All Because of a Pair of Eyes
by CrazyShyness
Summary: A missing nin appears in Konoha in search of the village's two eye-based kekkei genkai as Naruto and Sasuke have their rooftop battle. AU.
1. Chapter 1: A Missing Nin Returns

Disclaimer: Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are the property of Masashi Kishimoto, TV Tokyo, and related owners. This is fanfiction is meant in no way to create a profit and is meant solely for entertainment purposes.

* * *

It had been less than a month since Otogakure had invaded Konohagakure and the reconstruction of the latter was nearly finished. A fifth Hokage had been appointed and life was returning to normal for the inhabitants of the ninja village.

Unless you were a shinobi. Missions were being accepted twice as much as before to compensate for those that had died in the invasion and so that the village would appear as powerful as any of the other ninja villages.

"Excessive work breeds sloppiness. Excessive sloppiness breeds cracks. Cracks are a shinobi's bane," a man muttered to himself, recalling a motto he had heard a lazy but correct proctor had say at his Jounin Exams. The man sat amidst the branches of a tree near the edge of Konoha's walls. His body was shrouded by large wisps of solid colors, all part of a passive genjutsu he had designed himself. It would make identification difficult, and considering he had once belonged to Konohagakure that would be necessary. The man made a quick glance at the ANBU officers going about their now daily patrols.

"They're too sloppy."

The guards had already passed his position a myriad of times throughout the last week and he had gone unnoticed. Killing them as an example would have pleased the man, but it would blow his cover. That would not do. Instead of continuing his waiting game, the man decided to go with his plan.

As the ANBU went past, the man made a curt smile. "Wind Style: Transparency Jutsu," the man said. This enhanced version of his sensei's technique instantly deactivated his passive genjutsu and his body became invisible as wind passed through his form effortlessly, creating a perfect disguise. Without a sound, he leapt from his tree and into the village; the guard ninja were blissfully unaware of anything going on.

* * *

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba Inuzuka yelled as he and Akamaru began their signature taijutsu. Kurenai snapped her attention toward Kiba as he slammed into her with his technique; Akamaru following only slightly behind.

Using a substitution jutsu, Kurenai reappeared closer to Hinata Hyuuga. Hinata gasped and raised her hands in a fighting stance; however Kurenai placed a kunai to the girl's neck.

"Dead," Kurenai pronounced. Hinata sighed and retreated from the practice spar as Shino Aburame ordered swarms of his bugs to converge at Kurenai's position.

Caught by surprise, Kurenai jumped over the swarms only to be hit by Kiba's taijutsu. Kiba and Akamaru stopped their jutsu mid-swing and Shino body flickered into the middle of his swarm.

Team 8's sensei hit the ground with a loud thud. "Dead," Shino said and Kurenai nodded.

Brushing herself off, she looked at her team with some approval. "Great work. But Kiba, you presented several openings that could have been exploited. If it weren't for Shino's insects you would have been defeated rather quickly." Kiba nodded.

"Shino, you did fine. However your taijutsu you displayed earlier in the spar needs more work." The Aburame made no noticeable response yet Kurenai knew he had heard every word.

"Hinata, you need to be more aware of your surroundings. That is the most important thing in a combat situation." The Hyuuga nodded silently, ashamed of her failure.

* * *

The hidden shinobi continued his silent vigil of Team 8 from a nearby tree. It had taken the man several hours to even come close to locating one of his two targets, but here she was.

He could still see her tell-tale white eyes and those lovely veins protruding from them. She possessed the Byakugan _and_ she didn't have the Hyuuga branch family seal either. He had suspected that she would have a group of branch family guardsmen, but there were none. Her only defense was an Inuzuka, an Aburame, and a weak Jounin whose only claim to fame was her genjutsu skills. Truly the universe was shining on him today.

Jumping from his tree, the shinobi ended his advanced form of the Transparency Jutsu and preformed the hand signs for a different technique. His passive genjutsu reactivated without even a thought. "Blades of Wind!" Spears of spinning air coated the ninja's hands. Catching all of the practicing ninja by surprise, the man punched the bug user multiple times. The Aburame flew backwards into a tree but dissolved into a swarm of bugs as the real one appeared next to the Inuzuka.

The man canceled his jutsu and went into another set of hand signs. "Sensei?" the parka-wearing ninja yelled. The woman nodded as she unsheathed a handful of shuriken. "Oh yeah! Akamaru, let's go!" The boy ran forward with his dog beside him.

"Fire Style: Fire Wall!" The assailant sent his hand into ground, sending a wall of fire flaring up between them, preventing the boy from getting any closer. The ninja and his dog back flipped away from the flames and watched the fire intently.

"Hinata, is he still behind the wall?" Kurenai asked.

Hinata stared at the fire with her Byakugan. "He's st-still there. The fire completely suh-suh-surrounds him…"

Kurenai nodded. "Kiba, go back to the village and get help."

"Sensei…"

"No buts Kiba! You're the fastest here!" Kiba frowned but nodded several seconds later.

"You'd better be right about this sensei." Then Kiba and Akamaru bolted towards the exit of the training field.

Hinata gasped suddenly. "Kurenai-sensei… he's making hand signs…"

Without warning, the man jumped through his Fire Wall and made several more hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino darted away from the jutsu as it appeared before them.

Quickly regaining her composure, Kurenai focused her chakra in preparation for a genjutsu. A shift in the air behind her was her only indication of a follow up attack. A quick shove knocked the woman to the ground, breaking her concentration. "Lightning Style: Four Pillar Bind." Behind her, the air shifted again as the assailant dodged the four stone pillars he summoned. A second later, blue bolts of electricity crackled from the pillars and bound Kurenai in place. She shrieked as the unsuspecting lightning attack hit her.

"Crimpling overspecialization at its worst," the ninja thought as he faced his remaining two opponents.

"It was unwise to come attack us," Shino said.

"Really? It would appear I have the upper hand. Your sensei has been trapped with no way to free herself and you have lost your best taijutsu user."

"That may be so, but I haven't started yet." Shino lifted his arms parallel to the ground and a swarm of insects flew from his sleeves toward the man. The enemy shinobi ran towards the swarm, making hand signs as he went.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The bugs fell in a smoldering heap. One punch was all that was needed to knock out the shocked Aburame.

* * *

Hinata composed herself into a juuken stance, waiting for the inevitable attack. "Drop the stance girl. I've seen you spar. You're pathetic. A real Hyuuga would have gone and attacked by now. It'll give me great pleasure to take your eyes."

"B-but…what…"

"I want your Byakugan. Now you can come with me quietly or I could proceed with knocking you out and carrying your unconscious body around."

The words slammed into her like a storm of paper bombs. A mix of fear and horror washed over her. The only other time she had ever felt a feeling such as this was when she prepared to fight Neji in the Chunin Exams. The only difference was that she couldn't borrow any of Naruto's confidence here.

"Hinata… run," Kurenai whimpered from the confines of the Pillar Bind.

"Demonic Illusion: Dark Slumber!" the man yelled as his hands finished forming a set of hand signs.

Hinata's eyes grew hazy and the man's genjutsu-covered body seemed to melt into the training field and soon the training field melted into the sky and soon the sky into darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey guys. Name's CrazyShyness and I'm the new kid on the block. I've been writing fiction for a while now but this is my first foray into Naruto fanfiction.

This is a really short chapter and most of the chapters are also going to be sort of short, but doing this lets me add on more chapters quicker without having to change the pace that I write at. There will be long chapters too, so don't worry too much about that. I'm also going to be using the English names of the jutsus from the dubbed anime and translated manga whenever possible. I started watching Naruto dubbed and it feels more natural this way. Yet I will be using the Japanese names for the hidden villages. Yes, I am a strange person with double standards, why do you ask?

Also enjoy. That's kinda important I guess.


	2. Chapter 2: Collecting the Other

The man whipped out a scroll and walked towards the Hyuuga's body. A quick cursory glance later and he found his pre-made seal for the Byakugan and in a puff of smoke Hinata's body was stored inside.

The man took his scroll back and turned towards Kurenai. "I'm afraid we must part. My little trip here is not yet finished." The Jounin glared as the man made a hand sign and disappeared.

Kiba arrived several minutes later with reinforcements, but by this time the man had left the public training fields and made his way across the village towards the place he had heard where the last Uchiha was nursing his wounds, the Konoha hospital.

* * *

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto Uzumaki cried. Hundreds of copies appeared around the Genin and leapt towards Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke fell into his taijutsu stance and proceeded to pummel clone after clone. Meanwhile the real Naruto sent a squad of clones to sneak by Sasuke.

"Na!" "Ru!" "To!" the clones yelled as they kicked Sasuke into the air.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" Another clone sent a kick to Sasuke's head and he blocked it with his arm. Forming a tiger seal, Sasuke gave the clone a mad grin.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A wave of fire engulfed Naruto's shadow clone army, dispersing the jutsu.

"Sasuke… Naruto…" Sakura stuttered as she watched her teammates attack each other. "Why are they fighting? We're on the same team!"

Sasuke glanced down and saw the real Naruto standing with a shadow clone, a swirling ball of chakra in his hand. "Wha… what the…. What is that jutsu?" he wondered as he began charging up a Chidori.

Realization crossed Sakura's face. "No! Stop!" The kunoichi ran towards the two, hands outstretched.

* * *

"Now this is interesting," the hidden man muttered as he saw the two Genin sparring on the hospital's rooftop. "It looks like the two are doing all of the fighting for me."

* * *

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

"No!"

The two jutsus' collisions resulted in a shockwave, sending the three Genin flying to the edges of the rooftop.

Sasuke stood up, ignoring the pain his body felt. His clothing was ripped in multiple places and lines of blood etched across his skin. He grabbed a kunai from his sheathe and limped towards Naruto. Damn hospital. If they had any talent he would have been in a better condition to use his Chidori.

On his side of the roof, Naruto stood up. A spike of chakra pulsed from within the boy's body and the whisker marks on his face became darker. He brought his hands into to a sign. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A horde of clones appeared next to the weakened Uchiha. "Where is all this power coming from?" Sasuke yelled internally. Sasuke began fighting the army, but he began to falter, his reactions getting slower and slower. A clone smashed Sasuke in the back, sending him sprawling to the floor of the roof.

The hidden ninja body flickered onto the roof, avoiding detection from the two Genin. The kid in the orange jumpsuit dispelled his shadow clones and walked towards the Uchiha. The child glared at the Uchiha just as a tag with a seal on it flew onto the child's back. He fell to the rooftop.

Leaping onto the roof, a man the ninja recognized as Jiraiya caught the boy as he fell and set him down gently.

"I didn't think nurses ran around with flak jackets? Must be a new uniform." The ninja stopped in his tracks.

"How can you see through my genjutsu?" he asked quietly.

"I'm a Sanin for a reason. I thought you'd know that Susumu."

"So you still remember me, sensei? I would have thought you would have forgotten my face with all of the women you're so intent on studying."

"Minato always was the better pupil."

"But I'm not dead, that always counts for something." Jiraiya's brow morphed into a scowl.

"I know you defected to the Sound. I won't let you give him to Orochimaru."

Susumu chuckled. "That perverted snake was getting on my nerves. I left his ship as soon as he decided he should scuttle it in a joint invasion. Fire Style: Smoke Cloud Jutsu!" A black coating of smoke filled the rooftop. Less than a second later, the smoke dispersed. Sasuke and Susumu were gone.

Jiraiya groaned and made a mad dash to Tsunade's office. He had had a feeling that he never should have taught Susumu the Transparency Jutsu. He never had properly enjoyed his sensei's research anyway.

* * *

"Hokage, I demand a search party be formed at once," Hiashi Hyuuga ordered. "And add to that the Jounin looking over my daughter is to be punished sufficiently."

Tsunade looked at the Hyuuga clan head. "Might Guy is already in pursuit. I'm having a special team formed right now to assist him," she said.

"That is not good enough _Lady _Tsunade. I want results! Need I remind you the importance of the Byakugan? And of the sacrifices the Hyuuga Clan have made for Konoha?"

"No. No you don't."

Kakashi Hatake stepped out of the corner of the room he had been lurking in. "I have a team roster here. All I need is for it to be approved by the Hokage and we can get started searching. M'kay?"

Tsunade took Kakashi's list and read it quickly. "Approved. Kakashi, get them together and go." Kakashi nodded and body flickered from the room.

Hiashi continued to glare at Tsunade. He opened his mouth but anything he would have said would have been stopped by a loud crash made by Jiraiya the Toad Sage jumping through one of the windows.

"Sasuke's been abducted. Susumu did it."

"Who is Susumu?" Hiashi said angrily.

"One of my apprentices, he was in Minato's team," Jiraiya said.

"How strong is he?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya sighed. "He's gotten around to learning how to use some Fire Style techniques. I'm not sure how much his Lightning or Wind techniques have improved."

"Go find Kakashi. He needs to know what he's up against." Without a word, Jiraiya leapt through the whole in the wall he had created only seconds before.

* * *

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Susumu roared. A giant ball of flame illuminated and cleaned out the cave. The smell of roasting bat flesh radiated from the cave entrance, a smell that was associated with (according to Susumu's mind) triumph.

Susumu Shimura entered the cleared cave and began unpacking his supplies from multiple sealing scrolls. In a few moments, Susumu was lying down on top of a soft mattress with a soup heating up over a small fire. The scroll with the Uchiha and Hyuuga laid aside him. He would do the operations in the morning. By then he would have his chakra restored.

Now the only question that was left was which to do first, Byakugan or Sharingan?

**Author's Notes: **And now things have gotten rolling, eh?


	3. Chapter 3: Removing the Sharingan

Susumu awoke and smiled. There were no Konoha ninja entering his cave, the scroll was right were he had left it, and no animals had decided to come see what had happened to the bats. Susumu began cleaning a kunai by holding it over a fire. Once Susumu determined that the kunai was purified of any sort of contamination, he laid the kunai over his shuriken holster and unsealed his kekkei genkai scroll.

He brought his eyes to the seals containing the Uchiha and Hyuuga. Susumu pumped chakra into the scroll, and a boy with black hair and the Uchiha fan crest fell out.

Taking a piece of rope, Susumu tied the boy to a stalagmite he found deeper in the cave. A ring of torches surrounded Susumu and Sasuke, providing plenty of illumination. The ninja released his sleep genjutsu and Sasuke bolted to consciousness. It took the boy a minute to register what had happened, and then he began shouting curses.

"You're a pretty big loudmouth for an Uchiha," Susumu said. Sasuke shut up. "You see, Sasuke? You aren't worthy of the Uchiha name." Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life. Perfect.

"What do you know!" he yelled.

The ninja laughed. "I've worked with more than a few Uchiha. Each of them would have roasted that Jinchuriki in a few seconds. I think you eyes should go to someone more deserving of them." Sasuke did not recognize the word 'Jinchuriki'. Did he mean Naruto?

"The First Hokage had his Wood Style ninjutsu, the Uchiha have their Sharingan, and the Hyuuga their Byakugan. Haven't you noticed each of them have had high positions in Konoha? Where are the rest of us without such bonuses? Left in the dust. And where are you? A weak Genin with no potential. If I had had a kekkei genkai, there is no doubt I would be Hokage instead of that yellow-haired bastard. That's why I'm taking your eyes; they belong to someone more deserving of them and the rank that comes with it."

'Yellow-haired bastard'? The Fourth Hokage? Had Orochimaru captured him?

"Unfortunately that time has come and gone," the man sighed. "But at least I will finally obtain those eyes. With both yours and the Hyuuga's, Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei should be easy enough to squash. Konoha will be in the palm of my hand." Susumu raised his kunai and walked towards Sasuke.

The Genin shifted about in a panic, trying to find someway to get free of the ropes. He could not form any hand signs and his kunai and shuriken had been taken from him. "Struggling will do you no good, Sasuke."

Sasuke stopped and looked at the man he assumed was Orochimaru. What scared him the most was that there was no killing intent radiating off of him. Such cold-heartedness but no signs of it… it was unnerving to say the least.

"_Foolish little brother. If you wish to kill me, then hate me. Despise me."_

Sasuke's eyes twitched. Black tomoe appeared on each of Sasuke's eyes, completing his Sharingan. "Itachi?"

"_When we battle, we should have the same eyes."_

How? How was he supposed to do that now? He'd be robbed of his heritage any minute. He couldn't avenge his clan, redeem his clan and he would be too weak to stop Itachi…

"_So you really are after Naruto," the man Naruto called Pervy Sage said._

"'_To abduct Naruto.' Those were the orders given to us by the leader of our organization, Akatsuki."…_

"_This guy… IS MINE!" Sasuke yelled as he stood back up._

"_I have absolutely no interest in you."_

"Naruto is more important than me…"

"_Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto roared. A large puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, a large toad sat under the Genin, ready to fight the monster that Gaara had transformed into._

"Naruto is stronger than me…"

_Sasuke looked in horror as Uchiha fell all around him in the limbo world that was Tsukuyomi. And finally, his parents fell before Itachi. Then the bodies disappeared and it repeated. There were still 23 more hours to go._

Sasuke let out a wail as he felt something inside of him shift. Without realizing what was happening, Sasuke's eyes began to bleed. He stared at the ninja. "Amaterasu!"

Black flames flared to life on the ninja's flak jacket. Susumu jumped back and tore off the armor with his kunai. He looked surprised and saw Sasuke's eyes. They had lost their three tomoe. The eyes had warped into three intersecting red ellipses over a black background. Susumu had made it his goal to study and capture all of the kekkei genkai in the world, but this was new to him. The Sharingan didn't do that.

Was it the Mangekyou?

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke yelled again, instinct still in control. This time the black fire appeared on the ninja's right hand. Without thinking, he cut it off with his weapon. Susumu threw the kunai, if he couldn't have the eyes, no one could.

A clang was heard as the kunai rammed into a shuriken. Running down the cave tunnel was Kakashi Hatake and a kunoichi in an ANBU uniform.

"Lightning Blade!" Kakashi's enhanced Chidori materialized on his palm. Susumu made a single hand sign.

"Wind Style: Roaring Gale Jutsu!" A gust of wind formed and slammed into Kakashi, his Lightning jutsu dispelled by the Wind and the user sailing toward the cave wall. The ANBU kunoichi stayed unfazed however. Two clones appeared on her side and they each ran forward.

Susumu got into a taijutsu stance as she got closer. In the blink of an eye, the clones disappeared with the original out of sight. "Crescent Moon Dance!"

The ANBU appeared behind Susumu and the ninja fell. Blood dripped off of the ANBU's blade. She sheathed the weapon and began cutting Sasuke's ropes with a kunai.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Kakashi asked worriedly. It was then that he noticed the eyes. Sasuke was silent.

The ANBU finished cutting the rope and Sasuke fell to the cave floor. "Sasuke, what did he do to you?" Sasuke did not hear Kakashi. It is hard to hear someone if you are unconscious.

* * *

Tsunade went over the scroll Kakashi and Yugao had taken from Susumu Shimura. "Byakugan, Sharingan, Rinnegan, Shikotsumyaku, Soma no Ko…" she read from the scroll. Below each kekkei genkai was an unused seal. (Hinata Hyuuga had been found sealed inside of the Byakugan seal and unsealed promptly.)

"Hokage, we think that Susumu targeted Sasuke and Hinata first. He knew Konoha better than any other village and both of their kekkei genkai would be helpful with getting others," Kakashi reported. Beside him, Yugao Uzuki and two ANBU codenamed Towa and Komachi nodded. Jiraiya sat behind Tsunade's desk, glancing every so often at the scroll and then to Komachi's ANBU flak jacket.

"I remember he had a thing against the more powerful clans, but I had no idea it would go this far. He turned himself into an Orochimaru. Was there any indication he had any other kekkei genkai transplanted into himself?" Tsunade said.

"After he had been dispatched we did a thorough search of his body. We could not detect any signs of surgery," Yugao said. "We have turned him over to the ANBU morgue for a more complete analysis."

Tsunade nodded. Towa, Komachi, and Yugao left the room. "What is it Kakashi?" His stoic ANBU-like attitude left.

"I think Sasuke awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan." Silence.

"How did he do this? Sasuke didn't kill anyone."

"I know. The Mangekyou Sharingan is a strange thing. I've been doing some research on it ever since Itachi returned. Supposedly it is obtained by killing a family member or friend…"

"Yes?" Tsunade said impatiently.

"Well, there are accounts that say that some Uchiha that killed their friends never activated their Mangekyou. One or two other Uchiha obtained theirs even though they had never killed anyone. It appears to be hit or miss, with murder being the most likely chance of it happening."

"We may need to proceed with Operation: Jiraiya sooner than we thought," the toad sage said. "Kakashi, how are Sakura and Naruto?"

"Sakura needs serious instruction. She is far behind Sasuke and Naruto in skill. Then again, Sharingan and Nine-Tailed Fox. Naruto is almost at Sasuke's level, but the Mangekyou ruins things."

Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "Considering how outclassed they both are now they won't be able to keep up with Sasuke. That's the last thing you need. I'll go find Naruto and tell him to meet me at the main gate tomorrow morning for his training."

"And I'll take over Sakura then. Your team will need a medic, if that last 'spar' Naruto and Sasuke had was any indication," Tsunade said. Kakashi laughed sheepishly.

"And I have Sasuke then. Tsunade, does your library have anything from the Uchiha on the Sharingan?"

"A few things. Sasuke has most of the books, but these contain S-rank jutsu. Are you sure Sasuke can handle it?"

"Of course."

Tsunade smiled. "I'll get Shizune on it." Kakashi left the room in search of the Hokage's assistant. Jiraiya opened up the blinds behind Tsunade's desk. Then Jiraiya felt a stab of pain in his back.

"Come on Tsunade!"

"I told you to stop calling it Operation: Jiraiya!"

* * *

Sasuke had been discharged from the hospital once the doctors had been sure no lasting damaged had been done to him from his imprisonment within the seal and his fight with Naruto. On his back was a knapsack filled with kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, rations, and other ninja tools and wilderness survival material.

He had everything he needed. As soon as he found Itachi, he would stop him. His Mangekyou Sharingan was the only thing he needed to win. Sasuke left his house and confidently walked to the village gates. Sasuke felt a presence and quickly whipped out a kunai.

"Calm down Sasuke. It's just me," Kakashi said, stepping out from a place in the shadows. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business."

"Actually, it is." The two stood in silence, and Kakashi suspected Sasuke would throw the weapon at any moment. "I can't let you go after Itachi."

"Why not! I have the Mangekyou! I'm just as strong as he is!"

"This isn't about strength, Sasuke." Sasuke paused. "It's about vengeance. In this line of work, I've seen just how bad guys like you can get. In the end, those who tasted revenge… were not satisfied… it ended in tragedy. You'll only hurt and suffer more. Even if you are successful in your revenge, all you'll be left with is emptiness.

"What the hell do you know? Don't talk to me like you understand!" Sasuke yelled. "What if I were to kill the one you loved most? How far would you stray from what you just said? I can make you feel true pain!"

Memories of Team Minato glazed over Kakashi's visible eye. "That could work; however, no such person exists for me. Those people have already been killed." Sasuke looked up in shock.

"I've lived in a long, hard era. I understand how terrible pain and loss are." Sasuke looked down and dropped his kunai. "Well, we may not be the luckiest ones, but we aren't the worst off either. Both you and I have precious companions.

"You should know from your loss, the Chidori's power comes from having someone important to you in your life. Next to your Mangekyou Sharingan (which you have no practice in) is your strongest technique. That technique is not meant to be used against your friends or for revenge. You yourself should know what that power should be used for."

Kakashi gave Sasuke an eye smile and walked off. The Uchiha glanced at his sensei's figure as he left.

The boy silently opened his door and went back inside. The kunai lay on the ground.

* * *

Naruto flashed his trademark grin. "See ya later Sakura." The kunoichi gave a weak smile. Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke.

"Sakura. Leave us," Sasuke said. Sakura opened her mouth to object.

"Sakura, we'll be fine. We don't fight all the time. Hehe," Naruto said. Sakura walked out of earshot but kept an eye on the two. If either of them started performing a jutsu, she would stop them this time.

Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. "Naruto, do you know what this is?"

Naruto stared at the eyes for a moment or two, scratched his head, and stared again. "Contact lenses?"

Sasuke repressed the urge to slap the boy. "It's a Mangekyou Sharingan. Like Itachi's." Naruto cringed at the name, remembering how he and the shark guy cornered him at the hotel. "This means I am stronger than you."

"Now wait a minute here Sasuke!"

"Stop Naruto. I don't mean it like that." Naruto closed his mouth. "This version of the Sharingan gives me the ultimate genjutsu, Tsukuyomi and the ultimate Fire Style technique, Amaterasu. With both of these, I can fight Itachi and avenge my clan.

"I want you to help me."

The two boys stood in silence for a while.

"Sasuke…"

The Uchiha smirked. "Itachi is my fight, but I can't do it alone. You remember how he knocked me aside so easily? When I go after him, you will need to be ready to. I want you, Sakura, and Kakashi to make sure that fish friend of his or whatever 'Akatsuki' is doesn't interfere."

"Got ya. Sasuke," Naruto said. The two outstretched their hands and shook.

Off in the distance Sakura smiled, she had seen the handshake. Maybe they two boys could be friends. Naruto made some final goodbyes to Sasuke and Sakura, and to a couple of other people: Iruka, an older man and a younger woman in chef outfits, Tsunade, and Kakashi (as late as ever). The goodbyes finished a short while later.

Soon Jiraiya appeared and left the village with Naruto in his wake.

* * *

Orochimaru glared at the Sound Four. They had gone to Konoha to find Sasuke gone and the Jounin and Chunin of the village searching frantically with more patrols than ever before. The Sound Four had been forced to retreat in order to avoid detection. Luckily, Orochimaru's spy network had determined Sasuke had been retrieved by Konoha.

The leader of Otogakure had been forced to transfer bodies already however, and that greatly annoyed Orochimaru. Sure, Gen'yumaru would be suitable for now, but what he really wanted was Uchiha blood. This would set back his plans for Sasuke at least three years.

"Kabuto."

"Yes Lord Orochimaru?"

"We're going to Konohagakure."

Sakon grinned. "We'll get ready at once."

"No," Orochimaru said. "Kabuto and I shall leave. You five are to make preparations for Sasuke when we have retrieved him."

"As the leader of the Sound Four, Orochimaru, I…"

"You failed me Sakon. You did not look for Sasuke and retreated from Konoha like a bunch of cowards." Orochimaru stood up and walked from the room. Kabuto quietly followed.

"My my, this is going to be interesting," he said.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And yes, Susumu is dead. He isn't coming back, ever. Unless I decide to have someone revive him.

Also on the topic of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke got it because he was thinking about how his clan was murdered. Canon has it coming in when an Uchiha has all three tomoe on the normal Sharingan and feeling the emotion of the person closest to you dieing. I substituted 'person' for entire clan.


	4. Chapter 4: Old Books, Pervs, and Youth

Konoha had gotten quieter after Naruto had left. Sakura was surprised about how that loudmouth of a ninja brought so much life to the place. At least it would make training easier, hopefully. Sakura rapped at Tsunade's door and waited. She heard footsteps and turned.

A woman with short black hair walked by, carrying a large pile of books and scrolls. "Excuse me," Sakura started. "Is the Hokage in there?" The woman looked up and down at Sakura and lastly fixated on her hair. Her eyes squinted as her mind whirred to put a name to the face. Finally, a look of realization.

"You're Sakura Haruno aren't you?" Sakura nodded. "Lady Tsunade is in a meeting with the Council, so she can't teach you anything now. But, she did tell me to give you these." The woman gave Sakura the pile of reading material. Sakura's arms groaned in protest.

"What are these?"

"Chakra control exercises and diagrams of the human body. Lady Tsunade wants you to have all of these memorized two weeks from now." The woman smiled and Sakura had no choice but to weakly smile back.

"Thank you…"

* * *

"Come on Pervy Sage! When am I going to learn something?" Naruto said.

Jiraiya turned to look at Naruto. "Soon. We need to go meet up with someone first."

"Why?"

Jiraiya thought back to how he had gotten Naruto to come with him the last time. _"I'll teach you a jutsu stronger than the Chidori." _"He can help teach you how to do a better Rasengan."

Naruto gave the sage a stupid look. "Why can't you help me?"

"Why do you have to be so difficult? I'll explain more when we meet him."

* * *

Sasuke rolled up another scroll and threw it behind him onto an ever-growing pile. The books had taught him nothing he already knew. He knew that the Mangekyou Sharingan appeared after three tomoe had formed in the original Sharingan. He knew it provided the Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi jutsu. Ke knew it was a rare occurrence to gain a Mangekyou.

Wordlessly, Sasuke grabbed another book and stared at it. There was no writing upon the cover and the stench of old age radiated from it. Intrigued, Sasuke opened the book to a random page and began reading. The paper had yellowed and the remaining ink was difficult to read and were it not for the Sharingan it would have been nigh impossible to decipher.

The question was why was this book in the pile? It did not appear to be a treatise on the Sharingan's finer aspects or a guidebook on how to unlock it. Puzzled, Sasuke began reading:

_Izuna and I have decided to call this new evolution the Mangekyou Sharingan._

_I am not sure how we activated this new Sharingan. There are many Uchiha who are my elder who do not possess it, yet they have all three tomoe and have survived many conflicts. They are also puzzled by the new Fire Style ninjutsu I have discovered, the Amaterasu. They have been unable to copy it with their normal Sharingan._

_Izuna has also discovered a genjutsu we have taken to calling Tsukuyomi. Only our best genjutsu specialist has been able to break it, but just barely. They cannot replicate it either but I can. The jutsu these new eyes give us can only be performed by the two of us. I don't know whether this is due to us being siblings or any other reason._

_~ Madara Uchiha_

"Madara Uchiha," Sasuke mouthed. That was the first person to have ever unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sasuke took the other books and set them aside. Sasuke twitched moments before Kakashi Hatake entered the apartment.

"Found anything yet?" Kakashi asked. Kakashi's eyes were buried into an Icha Icha book.

"You could say that."

* * *

Sakura was on her third body diagram, this time on the chakra network. The park she was sitting in was mostly empty. Civilians were off working and shinobi were either on missions or on patrols around the city; Hiashi Hyuga was the cause of the later.

Sakura pushed the diagram away and sat down and started watching the clouds. "I can see why Shikamaru likes doing this so much," she thought to herself. Sakura sat there for hours, letting the time pass by.

"Sakura!" The kunoichi bolted to her feet. A kid in a bowl cut with a green jumpsuit gave her a funny look. "Sakura, are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine Lee." Her cheeks turned a shade of pink, similar to her hair and dress. She should have been more aware. She _wasn't_ Shikamaru. "Wait, I thought you were still hurt from the fight with Gaara? Where are your crutches?"

"The Hokage did a most youthful operation. She says if I take my medicine I will be able to continue being a shinobi!" Lee gave his Nice Guy Smile to her and picked up one of Sakura's diagrams. "What is this for Sakura? Shouldn't you be training with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto and Sasuke?"

"They're off training."

"Yes, Sakura, but shouldn't you be with them?"

"Oh, no, they're getting special training," she said. "Didn't you hear about that?"

"No. But that would explain why Guy-sensei has been unable to challenge Kakashi-sensei to a fifty-second contest." Lee folded up the diagram and handed it gently back to Sakura. "What are they learning?"

Sakura shrugged. "I have no idea. Naruto's off with someone called 'The Pervy Sage' and Sasuke is with Kakashi again."

"Who is teaching you?"

"The Hokage, but she's been busy with village stuff I guess." Lee nodded and was quiet for a moment. Suddenly, fire literal danced in his eyes and he leapt into his Nice Guy pose.

"Sakura! You can train with Team Guy!"

The suggestion took the kunoichi by surprise. If she said no, Lee would be incredibly depressed, if she said yes, well… "Sure Lee. That'd be… fine."

"Most excellent! We will be training tomorrow at the first training ground at eight o'clock! See you then Sakura!" The ninja ran off happily and Sakura sighed. This would be… interesting.

* * *

Kabuto lazily handed Orochimaru a porcelain toad mask. "Is this some sort of joke," the Sanin asked angrily. The Sound ninja both had changed into Konoha ANBU uniforms, complete with katana. Konoha, which only lay a few miles in the distance, gave off a multitude of lights that pierced the night sky.

Kabuto smiled and his glasses slid down his nose ever so slightly. "Maybe a little. That does not mean that it isn't practical though. Who would expect the snake Sanin to be wearing a toad ANBU mask?"

"Then you get the dog mask," Orochimaru said.

"Are you implying, something Lord Orochimaru?"

"Maybe a little." Orochimaru slid the toad mask over his head. "We will both enter Konohagakure tomorrow. You at noon, I at sunset. Search the city and learn the patrols. I will locate Sasuke. We meet two days from now at the top of the Forest of Death's tower."

Kabuto fastened his dog mask to his head and nodded. The two disappeared, separately preparing themselves for this mission.

* * *

"Oooooooh YEAH! Shake it ladies!" Jiraiya roared. Two women from the night club danced seductively before the Sanin. Naruto groaned as the two entertained his 'teacher'.

"Harem Jutsu!" Naruto whispered. Dozens of female Narutos appeared on the strip clubs stage. The smoke from the jutsu slowly disappeared. The other men in the strip club catcalled and rejoiced at the new 'entertainers'. One of the Narutos gripped a microphone from a stand and shouted into it. "HEEELLLOOOOOOOOO GUYS!"

A roar of catcalls erupted from the men. "Are you guys ready to rock!" another yelled. The men called back. "Then you guys are going to love this," the microphone Naruto said seductively. "Transformation Jutsu!"

Each of the Narutos reverted into their normal selves, sans clothing. The men instantly got quiet. Jiraiya seethed with killing intent.

All of the men then burst out of the strip club screaming. Naruto dispersed his clones and glared at the two women who were entertaining the toad sage only moments before. "Go. Now." The two shrieked and ran to the club's dressing area back stage.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Why the hell haven't you been training me?"

"I told you we need to find someone to help you!"

"Then why haven't we been looking for him! I don't think he'd be some cheap whore, you perv!"

"Hey! This place was not cheap!" Jiraiya protested. A man with glasses and a black suit came running from the backstage area with two men with large clubs.

"Get out of here! You went and scared away all of my customers! We are a 5-star establishment and you've ruined us!" the man said. Naruto left quickest, he didn't want to stay here anyway. Jiraiya needed some prodding from the bouncers and more verbal assault from the owner before he conceded.

* * *

"This is his house," Jiraiya said. The house he was referring to was made entirely out of wood. There was no paint or stone or paper used at all in its design. The home sat a little ways off from the village, not to far but not a short walk either.

On the porch sat a man with short brown hair. He wore no indication of national origin and happily sliced open a peach for a midnight snack.

"Jiraiya, you're late," he said absent-mindedly. The Sage slapped the back of Naruto's head.

"We would have been here much later if Naruto hadn't ruined all of the fun."

The man grinned. "Thank you, Naruto. It's always nice to see a shinobi who is dedicated."

"Come on Tenzo, lay off a little. He would have gotten here eventually."

Naruto looked strangely at Tenzo and his house. "Are you a ninja?" he asked.

Tenzo smiled again. "That's classified information Naruto. But for the sake of this training, yes I am a ninja."

"Good. I wanted to make sure Pervy Sage wasn't fooling with me again." Jiraiya bopped Naruto on the head.

"Stop it with the 'Pervy Sage' already!"

Tenzo set his peach and knife down. "Naruto, if you would go inside, there is a room on the second floor for you." Naruto nodded and went in silently.

"You got the messenger toad then?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes. He found me a few days ago while my squad was returning from a mission." Tenzo paused. "You didn't make it clear exactly why you needed me."

"You are aware he is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"Who doesn't? I'm just wondering why you need me here to help him. I have not heard of any problems with the Fox when he trained at the academy or with Kakashi or when you trained with him a few weeks ago."

"The Uchiha got his Mangekyou. Naruto needs to be up to his level when he returns to Konoha or else that kid is probably going to do something really stupid. Naruto is the only person who could slap some sense into him if it came down to it. But, in order to get Naruto up there I plan on using his Shadow Clones." Tenzo nodded in complete understanding.

"When will you start needing me?"

"Tomorrow. He's going to perfect the base Rasengan. I'd be surprised if the Fox didn't show its ugly head."

* * *

Sakura entered the First Training Ground. This field was a bare plain with a large river sitting in the middle. Neji and Tenten were sitting near the fences of the field idly chatting. Lee was nearby doing push-ups.

Neji saw Sakura first. She could have sworn that the Hyuga's eyes had the Byakugan active. The kunoichi shivered. That kekkei genkai gave her the creeps. At least Sasuke's Sharingan looked cool.

Tenten smiled and waved at her. Sakura waved back. Sakura remembered Lee and Guy-sensei's "Power of Youth" speeches and Neji's obsession with fate. Tenten was sane right?

As the girl from Team 7 joined the group, Guy ran into the field and quickly jumped into a pose. "Hey everybody! Life treating' ya good?" Lee rose from his push-ups and saluted. Neji stayed silent and Tenten repressed a groan. Sakura didn't know what to think.

"I will be leaving later this morning for a mission so we must get as much done as we can! NEJI!" The Hyuga flinched. "You will be sparring with Tenten! LEE!" Rock Lee quivered with excitement. "You will be working on regaining your strength from your operation! A hundred laps around the field!"

"And if I cannot do that then I will do five hundred sit-ups!"

"SAK…ura?" Guy stopped. His energetic demeanor snapped into a serious tone. "Lee. Come with me." Lee gulped and the two walked toward the lake.

"Is Lee going to get in trouble?" Sakura asked. Tenten chuckled.

"Nope."

Lee and Guy began waving their arms madly, gibbering excitedly to each other.

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

The two shinobi embraced each other and manly tears poured from their eyes. Sakura poked Tenten. "Do they always do that?"

"Yes. Do not worry Sakura, you will never get used to it," Neji grumbled.

The two ninja ended their embrace and rushed toward the three Genin.

"SAKURA!" Guy shouted. Lee leapt into a pose. "Lee shall be helping you train! Now everybody! Let's go! With the POWER OF YOUTH!"

* * *

The Uchiha perused through Madara's diary quickly. It completely chronicled Madara and Izuna's testing with the Mangekyou Sharingan and it contained as good an analysis as Sasuke had ever seen on the different Mangekyou ninjutsu and genjutsu. According to Madara, the ways to perform the techniques were already hard-wired into his brain it was just figuring out how to use them that was difficult.

Doing a quick look at the page dedicated for Tsukuyomi, Sasuke gave his sensei a pleading glance. "Kakashi, I have a genjutsu I want to try on you."

Kakashi slammed his Icha Icha book shut. "I will not be your Tsukuyomi test dummy."

"Then who am I supposed to test this on?"

"No one. Itachi put you in a coma and he knew what he was doing. I'd hate to see what you would do."

Sasuke chucked a kunai at Kakashi's foot. "Then we're practicing taijutsu." Kakashi stood, nose still in his book.

"Whenever you're ready."

* * *

Lee looked Sakura up and down. His cheerful personality was gone, replaced by a quiet and serious one. This was short-lived.

"Sakura! I know just what we need to start with! Do fifty sit-ups!" Lee said.

The kunoichi nodded and got into position. Lee grumbled and Sakura paused. The boy gave a slightly annoyed smile. Confused, Sakura continued. She made her first sit-up and Lee snorted.

"What?" she asked.

"You're forgetting something," Lee deadpanned.

"Huh?"

"Your Self-Imposed Challenge!" Sakura stared absent-mindedly at Lee. "That is right! You've never trained here before! Guy-sensei taught me about the Self-Imposed Challenge. Whenever you train or spar with someone, declare that if you lose you will do something to train harder. That way if you lose you will get better for future challenges and if you succeed you will not need the challenge anyway."

Sakura nodded slowly. "If I can't do fifty push-ups, I'll run one lap around the field?" Lee nodded approvingly.

* * *

"Morning Pervy Sage, morning Tenzo-sensei," Naruto chirped. Tenzo smiled at his new honorific. Jiraiya growled. He also was ignored. "What are we learning today?"

"You will be working on perfecting the Rasengan," Jiraiya said.

"But I can do it already," Naruto replied.

"You have to use a clone to make up for it. The first step to your training is creating a Rasengan without a clone. This will improve your chakra control and cause you to use less chakra when creating this jutsu because you won't need the clone." The boy snorted in protest.

"Naruto. The techniques I am going to be teaching you require a great deal of chakra control. You can't be having your Shadow Clones doing all of the hard work for you. And even if you did, they would waste some of your chakra. Do you remember Akatsuki?" A vision of Itachi and Kisame flashed before Naruto's eyes. "They will be after you. And believe it or not, there are even stronger ones than them in the organization. You can't waste any chakra against them."

Naruto's face showed some understanding, but there was still some apprehension.

Tenzo stepped forward. "Think of it another way, Naruto. If you are in combat with a shinobi that is a ranged fighter, he would be able to disperse your Clones easily if you are using them to create a Rasengan or any other type of jutsu you decide to use Shadow Clones in. If you can do the same jutsu without the clones you will be able to fight that much more effectively and efficiently," he said

Jiraiya nodded. Out of all of the Akatsuki members the sage knew of, at least one excelled at long range while several more had long-ranged capabilities Naruto had no defense for.

"Alright. When do I start?"

"Right now. Naruto, create fifty Shadow Clones," Jiraiya ordered.

"You just said not to use Shadow Clones!"

"Haven't you ever noticed anything about your Shadow Clones before?" Tenzo asked.

"Nope."

"Huh. Alright, Naruto. Create a Shadow Clone," Jiraiya said. Naruto made the hand seal and a Clone appeared next to one Jiraiya had formed. "Now you two, go over there into the house." Wordlessly, the two clones entered the house. A couple seconds passed. "Naruto, dispel the jutsu. Now what did the two clones do?"

"You wanted me to do the Harem Jutsu so I smashed your clone in the face," Naruto growled. "Wait. How did I know that?"

"That technique was created as a way to scout on enemy positions. The jutsu creates a solid mass that can interact with the environment so it can complete its missions easier. However, if it gets injured it disappears and any information obtained by the Clone is provided to the user," Tenzo said.

A stupid look crossed Naruto's face. "What?"

"Whatever happens to a Shadow Clone happens to you. By training your clones you can increase your training time exponentially. With two clones, one hour becomes two. With ten clones, an hour becomes ten. And with a hundred clones…"

"An hour becomes a hundred!" Naruto said happily.

"He finally understands something," Jiraiya snickered to himself.

Naruto grinned his trademark grin and created fifty shadow clones. Each held out their hands. Jiraiya nodded and Yamato assumed the Lotus position, prepared to dispel any clone that tapped into the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra. The training for a perfect Rasengan had begun.

* * *

Kabuto took off his ANBU mask. "Lord Orochimaru." The Sannin coughed, acknowledging his subordinate's presence. "I have a list of the patrols. The guard changes at oh one hundred every day. ANBU patrols are the most common, but there are more and more Hyuga-only teams."

"Sasuke's training center is in the Uchiha district. Are there any patrols in that sector of Konoha?"

"There is the occasional group, mostly focusing around their clan headquarters and library. Those patrols however, are limited. Does Sasuke have any babysitters?"

"Kakashi. He can easily be dealt with," Orochimaru said. "Get ready for tomorrow Kabuto. We'll kidnap Sasuke then."

* * *

Author's Notes: Man, this took longer than it should have. Writing scenes with Lee and Guy make me uncomfortable. I never know if I'm applying too much Youth or too little.


	5. Chapter 5: A Clash with Orochimaru

"Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke roared landing a final kick into Kakashi's stomach. The expected grunting from the man was replaced with a poof noise and with his body with a substitution log.

Sasuke ducked just as a kunai flew where his head was moments before. Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke and after a flurry of taijutsu strikes, the two slid backwards. Sasuke looked up and down Kakashi, searching for any indication of his next move.

For the moment the spar was going well. Sasuke had at least forced Kakashi to put down his book. The Jounin may not have been going at his best and Sasuke was fine with that. He was already having a hard enough time as it was. Each attack was met with one of Kakashi's counters and Sasuke's return counter was met with another counter that would send him sprawling to the floor. Each gain Sasuke made was made completely irrelevant a second later when Kakashi would appear behind him again to knock him down.

It was brutal training but it was a nice alternative to putting the Third Hokage's grandson or the Daimyo's wife's cat in Tsukuyomi (not that Sasuke would ever endorse either thing).

A loud crash caught both Kakashi and Sasuke's attention. Neither of them was anywhere near the noise or could have caused it. Sasuke's Mangekyou symbol phased over his three tomoe and Kakashi pulled down his mask to reveal his Sharingan.

A large brown serpent entered the Uchiha training gym, fangs glistening with poison. Sasuke flashed through several hand seals. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" The jutsu hit the snake head on. As smoke and ash lifted up from the burning carcass, two figures in ANBU uniforms stepped through its blackened jaw bones. The one with a toad mask threw his to the ground with a long tongue.

"Hello Sasuke."

* * *

"Ras...en...gan," a Naruto clone wheezed as he willed what remaining chakra the original stored in him to form a ball. The real Naruto threw a kunai at it. It was sort of sad seeing himself beat himself to death over the technique, even if the clone was _supposed_ to do that.

"Alright guys. Time for a break," the original said. The three remaining Shadow Clones nodded and dispersed and Tenzo got up from his kneeling position. The two wooden monitoring totems that the man had created grew limp as his chakra stopped sustaining them.

"I think you're getting better Naruto. That last clone managed to get the rough shape going," he said.

"Yeah. Maybe after lunch I'll be able to do it." The two ninja walked to Tenzo's house. "Is the Pervy Sage gonna have lunch with us?"

"Jiraiya said that he had business to take care of in the village."

* * *

"Please! I just need to see the manager for a second!" Jiraiya pleaded. A large man with a club and puny eyes gave the sage the same look he did everybody, stupid with a hint of 'go away or I'll whack you with my stick'.

"Mr. Gatou said no one is allowed in," the man drawled.

"You must know who I am, right?" the sage asked. Jiraiya stepped backwards and began to twirl about. "I, the Slayer of Evil, Teacher of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, taught by the Toad Sages of Mount Myokobuzan, Legendary Sanin, writer of Icha Icha Paradise and Violence, and All-Around-Cool-Guy, JIRAIYA!"

"Never heard of ya." The door the man guarded opened slowly. A man in a fancy suit with sunglasses poked his head out.

"You dumbass, I told you to keep quiet!" he yelled.

"I am Mr. Gatou. This man is doin' it." Mr. Gatou saw Jiraiya and pointed an incriminating finger.

"You idiot! You're the guy that got rid of all of my customers!"

"Ah, Mr. Gatou! Just the man I wanted to see. See, that whole thing a few days ago was not my fault at all. It was my apprentice. He's really odd sometimes, always making a scene…"

"Get out!"

Jiraiya pointed to a sign outside of the building proclaiming there would be a showing of the movie adaptation of Icha Icha Paradise that night. "See that? I wrote the book."

Gatou paused. He ruffled through one of his pockets and procured a battered Icha Icha Violence. Flipping to the back, he saw Jiraiya's picture on the front inside cover next to a biography.

"You…you're Jiraiya! THE Jiraiya! You're why I opened this place!" the man grasped Jiraiya's cloak and began hugging the old man. "I had no idea you were you! Forgive me!"

The sage cracked a smile. "Don't worry. I forgive easily. But…" The sage produced a lengthy scroll. "There are some things I want."

"Name it."

Jiraiya fixed a monocle to his left eye before reading his list. "First, a room at the best hotel in town, and five hours with your performers. Second, front row tickets to your club for the next two years …"

* * *

Kakashi and Kabuto fought on the far end of the Uchiha gym. This surprised Sasuke. He knew the man worked for Orochimaru, but wasn't that boy still a Genin? Surely Orochimaru had stronger followers. Either way, it didn't matter. He had his own opponent.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Five bolts of fire lanced out towards Orochimaru. The Sanin sent a nameless Water Style jutsu to put out the bolts in midair. Making a quick set of seals, hundreds of small snakes slithered from Orochimaru's sleeves and twisted about on the floor. As they flopped on the ground, they soon found a purpose and lanced toward Sasuke. As the snakes neared, Sasuke whipped about, smashing snakes with his hands and occasionally using a Fire jutsu to take out several at once. Orochimaru was fine with this. He had more snakes than Sasuke had stamina.

The Uchiha leapt into the air and landed away from the pile of snakes. His Mangekyou gleamed as Sasuke twirled, his eyes creating the black fires of Amaterasu in a circle around him. The snakes, unaware of Amaterasu's abilities swarmed into the fire relentlessly, burning themselves to a crisp before they could even reach Sasuke.

"Kukukuku… Amaterasu. I did not know you had activated your Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke. It must have felt good killing that yellow-haired punk."

Sasuke smirked. "Naruto's still alive. I activated it on my own." Orochimaru's grin grew even larger. With this new Sharingan, his prize was even more valuable _and_ he did it through some unconventional method. Truly his was a body worthy of his possession.

Orochimaru and Sasuke stood, eyeing each other wearily. If Sasuke left his circle he would be vulnerable to any more snakes Orochimaru summoned and Orochimaru couldn't get any closer unless he wanted to get burned. Worse was that most of his long ranged jutsu had the tendency of killing the target outright. Luckily, Orochimaru still remembered one or two from his Chunin days that were only _slightly_ lethal.

"Earth Style: Earth Shaking Palm!" Orochimaru slammed his fists into the floor of the gym, pillars of earth rocketed up from under Sasuke. The Uchiha hopped from pillar to pillar, avoiding new ones as he went. As the Sanin's jutsu stopped, Sasuke landed a few feet from the Sanin. Suddenly, a pair of shuriken flew into Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke grunted as blood started flowing from his wounds. A sickening hum resounded from the Cursed Seal of Heaven as it glowed a crimson red and flames began inching across Sasuke's body. Sasuke's grunting lessened as more of his chakra entered his system.

"I have only one thing left," Sasuke thought. Saru, Tatsu, Ne, Tori, Ushi, Mi…

Orochimaru watched the seals. This was that Chidori technique. Orochimaru flipped through his own hand signs for his counter.

…Inu, Tora, Saru, U, Saru.

"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled, charging his hand with lightning chakra. Sasuke rushed forward, the chirping noise accompanied with a roar of fury. Orochimaru simply stared as the jutsu stabbed him in the chest. With a burp, the skin and clothing turned a muddy brown and sank to the floor.

Behind Sasuke the real Orochimaru appeared, leg raised to kick the Uchiha into the wall. Given more than enough warning with his Sharingan, Sasuke anticipated the move and twirled. Momentum still carrying Sasuke forward, an arm block nullified the kick and the Chidori dispersed. A single kunai resounded with a thunk on Orochimaru's arm.

"All that for a single kunai?" Orochimaru mused. Perhaps Sasuke was feeling more theatrical today? It was then that he noticed the sheen of ninja wire tied onto the end of the weapon.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Sliding even further backwards, Sasuke sharply pulled the ninja wire. Orochimaru's body went straight into the fireball and straight towards Sasuke. A single punch dislodged Sasuke's kunai and sent Orochimaru twirling into the wall.

The Cursed Seal began to recede as its toll on Sasuke's body had gone as far as it could go. His breath grew varied and his wounds spat more blood onto the floor. The sick odor wafted into Sasuke's head. Despite the complete clarity his Sharingan gave him, Sasuke's vision grew hazy.

On the other side of the room, Orochimaru stood up, ignoring his burns. The boy had obviously grown since he had fought him well over a month ago. Still, he had reached his limit. In a few seconds, his prize would be his.

Sasuke gasped as his Mangekyou started morphing back into its normal form. He had never felt the strain of his kekkei genkai before, this wasn't good. Sasuke forced his Cursed Seal to reappear and his Mangekyou to activate. This would only work once.

"Tsukuyomi!"

* * *

The Sanin let out a gasp. The world he was in reminded him of the horrid red universe Itachi had taken him to several years ago, but this was different. Instead of red, it was a dark purple. And it didn't have the clarity either. Everything was hazy and ill formed. It must have had something to do with Sasuke's weakened state.

Orochimaru focused as much chakra to his head as he could to dispel the genjutsu. Veins became visible on Orochimaru's head as he futilely tried to defeat the illusion.

A few feet away from Orochimaru, an army of Sasuke's materialized. A sound similar to that of a flapping bird filled the genjutsu realm as white balls of lightning appeared on each Sasuke's hand.

"Chidori!"

Each Chidori that pierced Orochimaru resulted in a dispersed Sasuke and a flash of pain. "This is only a genjutsu. This is not real," the Sanin thought as he fought back the pain.

"Liar. This is Tsukuyomi. 'I control everything here. Time, space, physical mass, Nothing is out of my reach.'," the Sasuke army said, reciting a line from a description of Tsukuyomi that was in Madara's diary.

* * *

Orochimaru crumpled. The genjutsu had consumed his mind and made his body weak. As Sasuke's genjutsu ended, he willed what remained of his strength to form a single spark of Amaterasu on Orochimaru's body. It was all he could do, and it was enough.

Sasuke's eyes closed, combat had taken its toll. His Cursed Seal matched the color of his blood as it receded back into his body and said blood pooled about Sasuke's chest.

* * *

"Pervy Sage! Pervy Sage!" Naruto yelped. Jiraiya sighed. He may have gotten his forty-two item list approved by Gatou, but he would have to deal with Naruto in between his 'appointments'.

"What?"

"Watch." Naruto held out his hand. A twirling ball of chakra soon formed. Eyeing a quick target, Naruto ran towards a tree and shoved the ball into it. "Rasengan!" One second the tree existed, the next it was a pile of splinters and leaves.

The sage had no choice but to crack a smile. He looked just like Minato. "Good work Naruto. That's enough for today. Rest up and we can get to the main event tomorrow," Jiraiya said.

"Yeah!" As Naruto ran off, Tenzo came over.

"How were your negotiations with Mr. Gatou?"

"Pretty good. You'd think having you brother die in a third world country a little less than a year ago would make you a cranky old guy, but hey, I'm a celebrity."

"Are you going to help me and Naruto celebrate?"

"Nope. I have a strict appointment I need to make. I just came back so I can get my writing materials. Research, strictly confidential."

* * *

"Sakura, the Fires of Youth blaze in you. You have made a lot of progress in these few days you've been with us," Guy said happily. Beside him, Lee nodded at every word.

Sakura however felt the opposite. She couldn't match any of them when they sparred and she had only been able to do one more pushup than the day before and Lee's blasted Self-Imposed Challenges generally left her to tired to look at her medic-nin work.

"Thank you, Guy-sensei," Sakura said slowly. It wasn't that she wanted to; constant ten mile runs tend to make most people a little paranoid.

"I talked to the Hokage as soon as I got back, and it turns out that you will be receiving medic-nin training from her. Tsunade told me that I was permitted to train you in the physical aspects of being a med-nin," Guy proclaimed. Lee started crying tears of joy.

"Sakura! We can train together now! Woooohoooooo! To show my pleasure, I shall do ten extra laps for our evening exercises Guy-sensei!"

The identical ninjas began hugging.

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

Neji had been right, you couldn't get used to this.

* * *

"Well, that's… interesting," Kabuto muttered. Orochimaru's body was a pile of burning ash, Sasuke's half-dead body lay on the floor, and Kakashi was incapacitated by Kabuto having severed multiple nerve endings in his legs and arms. His only employer was dead. Of course, there was always Sasori but that puppet freak was a little strange, even by ninja standards.

Kabuto walked over to Orochimaru's 'remains' as it were, hoping that some sort of valuable item would be left. The only object resembling any sort of shape was a small silver ring with a blue face. Kabuto suspected it was an Akatsuki ring. Whenever the organization was brought up before Orochimaru, he had always clasped the ring with his other hand.

Their leader would be pleased he had brought it back, and maybe he could get a place in their organization out of it. God knew Oto would be a sinking ship now. Or he could use it as a bargaining chip. Or just sell it and let someone else deal with it.

Kabuto heard a cracking noise and he spun, already performing the hand seals necessary for his chakra scalpels. An odd plant-like creature with a white and black half stood behind an unconscious Kakashi. They wore the trademark Akatsuki uniform.

"Kabuto, it's been a while," the white half said.

"Could have been a while longer," Black grumbled.

"Zetsu of Akatsuki. It _has_ been to long. Are you looking for this?" Kabuto held up the ring.

"As a matter of fact, we are," said Black. Kabuto tossed the ring and the white half caught it.

"We will inform Sasori of your… success against Orochimaru," said White. Of course, Akatsuki still thought he was under Sasori's infiltration jutsu. He might as well play along. It beat getting into a fight with Akatsuki.

"Where will I be able to meet Sasori to obtain my new orders?"

Zetsu paused and looked at Kabuto incriminatingly. "Wouldn't Sasori be able to tell you with his technique?" Black asked.

Kabuto froze. He hadn't anticipated this. He'd been free from the jutsu so long he had forgotten exactly what it could do.

"I think it would be best if you came with us to Amegakure," White said softly with an undercurrent of malice. Kabuto nodded. He didn't have any other option.

* * *

Kakashi had no idea how long it took for Konoha to notice that they had been infiltrated and there was a battle going on inside their walls. He also did not know how Sasuke had faired against Orochimaru. Considering he was not dead, it must have gone fairly well. Or perhaps he was dead and was in the afterlife.

A loud shout awoke Kakashi from his reverie and if he was dead he knew he was in a personal hell. "Let me in! I must see my eternal rival!"

"We can't let you in, Guy. Kakashi needs to rest," a female voice said.

"Can I see him?" a girl asked. Kakashi guessed it must have been Sakura. The Jounin heard footsteps. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah..." Kakashi managed to slur out. Whatever sedative was used on him by that medic-nin, it was pretty effective except it left a nasty pain in his head.

"Shizune says you will be fine. Your nerve endings are already fixed and your head should feel better tomorrow."

"Sasuke?"

"I don't know. Lady Tsunade is looking at him personally. He's pretty weak from that fight you two had."

Kakashi willed strength to enter him. "They know… who attacked us?" He said it not so much as a question for his sake as much as it was for the village's.

"Yes, it was Orochimaru and Kabuto. A Yamanaka doctor probed Sasuke's mind just as you two got here."

"Good… keep Guy… out." Kakashi heard the door close and let the remaining sedatives in his system help him back to sleep.

* * *

Sasuke groaned. His chest hurt like a bitch, and so did his arm, and his legs, and… screw it, everything felt like a bitch. His eyes flitted open and he got a good glimpse of an IV machine attached to his arm. That explained that pain at least.

Tsunade smiled as Sasuke's eyes reached hers. "You're up, good."

"Oro…chi…"

"He's dead. You and Kakashi killed him. Now you just need to rest. You almost died of chakra depletion out there and all that blood loss didn't help any."

Sasuke closed his eyes and let the sedatives and pain take him to sleep. He was in a hospital, its what you did and it was a better way to spend your time than brooding about Itachi and Naruto.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, this took _way_ longer than it should have... Part of it was getting time in with my classes and all the studying I had to do for my chem midterm. Word from the wise, AP Chemistry is evil. Never take it. Ever. The other was I thought it would be best to change a semi-major detail that would have appeared in this chapter.

I have no idea for an ETA on the next chapter. It'll probably be sometime in January of 2011, I can tell you that much. I will be continuing with this, it'll just be going a lot slower than I intended it too.


	6. Chapter 6: Sakura, the Novice Negotiator

"Alright Naruto, now to step two of your training. We're going to start teaching you your elemental affinity," Jiraiya said.

"Elemental affinity?"

"Yes. You do know what that is, right?" The sage glared as Naruto laughed meekly. "Elemental affinity determines which Nature Manipulation of chakra you'll most easily be able to learn. For example Sasuke's affinity is fire so he is able to learn Fire Style techniques easier. There are only five types of Nature Manipulations, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. We figure out which affinity you have, we can start teaching you that element right away."

"Well how are we supposed to figure that out?" Naruto asked.

Tenzo produced a small stack of card sized paper. "With this chakra paper. By channeling some of your chakra into it, we can determine what your affinity is. If it burns it is fire, if it is cut its wind, if it crumbles its lightning, and if it gets damp its water."

Naruto took a piece of paper and pumped his chakra into it. For a moment nothing happened. Suddenly, a large cut appeared down the middle of the card and the pieces fell to the ground.

"You have wind then," Jiraiya muttered. "Huh. Hey Tenzo, help him get started with his training. I need to go find some wind technique scrolls."

Tenzo clapped his hands together and five trees grew from the ground instantly. "To start off our practice Naruto, you're going to take a leaf and hold it between your palms. Focus your chakra and try to slice it in half."

"How many clones should I make Tenzo-sensei?" The undercover ninja smiled.

"This many," he said pointing to the trees behind him.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

* * *

_Thunk_. The shuriken's dull noise alerted Sakura to the fact Tenten had located her again. The kunoichi used the log as a springboard and dodged the hail of mostly dull kunai Tenten threw.

Gripping her own kunai, Sakura aimed and used it to intercept one of the projectiles. The weapon managed to find a target (not to difficult considering how many of them there were) and knock it to the forest floor. As the rest sped closer, Sakura realized the futility of her situation and substituted away. A body flicker more and she appeared behind a large tree, with Tenten only a couple dozen yards away.

Taking stock of her almost depleted inventory, Sakura began formulating a plan. She needed to get close to Tenten if she wanted to be able to fight evenly with her. No doubt she'd make sure that would never happen though. Sakura did not know any long ranged jutsu or speed-based techniques. That left out any Sasuke-inspired ideas. Naruto would just bum rush with Shadow Clones. She didn't have anything like that.

Then Sakura face palmed. How had she forgotten the standard Clone technique? She had spent a good week practicing it to ace her finals at the Academy. Sure it had little use in most combat situations and the basic clone was inferior to Naruto's Shadow Clones or Water Clones she had seen Kakashi and Zabuza use against each other, but it might just work here.

"Clone Jutsu," Sakura said. Five Sakuras _poinged_ into existence. Sakura instantly recalled the failings of the basic clone. Unlike the advanced clone techniques, the basic Clone had no shadow or physical form. Any indication of it moving was also a no go unless genjutsu was applied and Sakura had never had much in the way of formal genjutsu training despite everyone saying she would be talented in that field. Of course, there were ways around the limitations of the jutsu. "You, you're with me. The rest of you wait for the signal."

A Sakura clone nodded and the two leapt out from behind the tree, dashing along the branches. The Clone Sakura obeyed its unspoken orders to a 't'. Keeping mostly to branches with just enough foliage cover to make keep its nature as an illusion, the clone and Sakura started to make a wide arc around Tenten, each preparing to throw kunai.

On cue, Tenten let loose a hail of kunai toward the real Sakura while only a single kunai went to the clone. "I know it's a clone, Sakura. You can't fool me that easily!" Sakura momentarily gulped as she sped closer to her kunai. Instantly she performed a substitution. One of the clones hiding behind her tree was thrust into her current position as she body flickered to a tree behind Tenten. Sakura could practically hear Tenten muttering to herself in confusion as both Sakuras turned out to be clones.

"Alright… now!" Sakura thought. Hearing the mental orders, the remaining Sakura clones leapt from their hiding spot and threw clone kunai after clone kunai toward Tenten.

Instinctively, she began attacking the new ones. They were dealt with fairly quickly with only a shuriken each with the precision Sakura had come to expect from the kunoichi. Sakura smiled at her successful ruse. She left her tree and charged her hand with chakra, just like Tsunade and Guy taught her.

Just as her fist was about to connect with Tenten's back, she twirled and blocked the attack with a summoned, dulled broadsword. The blade shattered, much to Tenten's surprise. A twirl of a scroll summoned two new swords to her hands. The two kunoichi glared at each other, not wanting to provoke the other into attacking.

"You've gotten better Sakura; that clone substitution was new. I didn't think that that was your style."

"It's not. But neither is taijutsu," Sakura said. Both ninja got up from their positions and shook hands.

"Let's call it a tie," Tenten said. Sakura nodded. The two walked in silence, allowing the two to reflect on the battle on their own.

"You were holding back, weren't you?" Sakura muttered.

"…Yeah, I can't go on you like I do with Neji. You can't Rotate my weapons away like he can. I try to think of these fights are more of a 'capture alive' mission than a 'search-and-destroy' one."

"You should be using everything you have though, I know enough medical jutsu to heal myself and you have the Chunin Exams to prepare for."

"That's why I have Neji and Lee. Don't worry about it Sakura, you've improved a lot. Remember that first spar of ours?"

"Yeah, you weren't even trying and I got… crushed," Sakura said, looking for the right word to describe really, _really_ bad day.

As the two ninja entered the clearing that Guy had set aside for their day's meeting site, Guy gave a curt nod to them. "Tenten, Neji and Lee are waiting for you for the afternoon exercises. Sakura, stay here please." Tenten bowed to her sensei and body-flickered out of the clearing.

"Is there something wrong Guy-sensei?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"As you know, the Chunin Exams are approaching and they will be taking place in Suna this year. You've grown a lot in these past five months, Sakura, but I must stop training you. Tsunade has requested you become her full-time apprentice until the exams are over and Team Guy returns."

The girl nodded. "Thank you for this training, Guy-sensei."

"Sakura, do not let your Fires of Youth sputter out while we are away. I expect you to keep up with the training regime Lee helped you design. When I return, I'll find a taijutsu style that fits you perfectly."

Sakura nodded and turned to leave.

* * *

"Tsunade, you cannot go _there_," Koharu spat angrily. "We cannot afford to lose a Hokage again, _even_ if the Hokage is as questionable as you are." Standing off to her side, Homura gave an agreeing nod.

"I didn't know you cared," Tsunade said.

"Do you think this is a game?"

"What I said is final."

Sakura, Tonton, and Shizune gave each other worried looks. They could do nothing else in this situation.

"Who knows what sort of pets Orochimaru kept in Oto? Send a squad of ANBU, Tsunade. They would accomplish the same thing you would," Homura said.

A slight rap of a cane brought everyone to attention. In the doorway of the Hokage's office was an old man wrapped up in bandages. "On the contrary Homura, Koharu, I think the Hokage has a right to go to Oto. Orochimaru is dead, his country is probably unorganized. An attack right now would cripple what remains. And who better to lead that than our Hokage with an elite strike force of ANBU? It would be a great victory for out ninja's faltering morale." Danzo said kindly. Secretly, the leader of Root activated one of his more dastardly powers.

Koharu nodded at the amount of sense Danzo had made and certainly not because of a subtle mind-control jutsu. "Hm. Yes. Yes… Tsunade, I will back you up in your decision."

Tsunade and Homura had the exact same reaction of surprise and confusion. Koharu never had agreed with Tsunade before. And for that matter Tsunade didn't want to go attack Oto. Orochimaru was killed and there would be no reason to continue any fighting. She only wanted to talk to the Sound Daimyo and whoever was the current leader of their hidden village to make peace between the two countries. But if she could only get support by invading, then she would 'invade'.

"Alright then. Shizune?" The aide snapped to attention. "Go find Kakashi Hatake. He will be acting Hokage until I return from Otogakure." Danzo gave a kind, approving smile. He hoped he was wrong about Oto's disorganization. Tsunade was powerful, but she wouldn't last too long in a straight battle against an army of Sound ninja.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, are you sure that this is wise?" Shizune worriedly asked. The two women, Sakura, Tonton, and a squad of ANBU stood before a large valley that marked the border between the Land of Sound and the Land of Fire, the Valley of the End.

"Orochimaru is dead. Otogakure suffered even worse loses during his invasion than we did. We have nothing to worry about. I'd bet on that," the Hokage said with a devilish smile. Shizune froze as the last sentence reached her ears.

"Come on, there's probably a bridge up there we can cross," Tsunade said as she pointed towards a waterfall bordered by the statues of Tobirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Sakura gulped as she looked down into the valley. The proximity was getting to her. Otogakure may have been disorganized by their failed invasion and Orochimaru's recent death, but she had a feeling they would not be beaten that quickly.

Once the group reached the top of the statues her thoughts proved to be wrong. Dozens of bodies littered the ground. Most of the bodies did not wear flak vests, indicating Genin, but two figures stood out from the rest. These figures wore identical outfits; similar to the one Orochimaru wore during the invasion, if the ANBU sketches were anything to go by. Were they Jounin or some sort of Sound ANBU?

Tsunade surveyed the battlefield. The stench of the bodies sickened her nose. "This must have taken place a while ago; Kage, do we know of any other country's ninja coming near this territory?"

"No, Lord Hokage."

"A few of these look like they were running away from something, but there is nothing to run away from. They are definitely from the Sound, why would they leave it?" an ANBU ninja thought out loud.

The kunoichi were silent as they pondered this, hoping the silence would reveal the answer. "We need to keep going," Tsunade said at last. "Whatever happened here must not have been good, even more of a reason to talk to whoever is in charge."

And the kunoichi crossed the border into a disturbingly quiet lion's den.

* * *

Jirobo stiffened himself against the walls of Kimimaro's room. The weak man lay in his life support system, calmly irritated at the turn of events Orochimaru's subordinates had begun after their leader's death.

All of Orochimaru's bases had fallen into chaos. It had started a few days after Orochimaru had left for Sasuke Uchiha: a border guard noticed that Kabuto and a ninja wearing black and red had left Konoha and were heading to the Rain Country, which caused a lot of debate amongst the remaining Jounin and the Sound Four. Ninjas being as ninjas were, assassinations and violence followed. Bands of Sound Genin and Chunin joined Jounin as they searched for rival groups to absorb into their own or to do battle with.

Research facilities had fallen fairly quickly with the violence and experiments had broken into the countryside with no one capable of control their Cursed Seals or killing them. The Sound Four had practically eliminated each other and Kimimaro himself had become a spoil of war for anyone who managed to take the base he resided in.

The Kaguya knew that as soon as he died, whoever was closest would begin the long and painful process of replacing his bones with theirs, giving them his Shikotsumyaku abilities. He didn't want to be in this situation, he was only a member of the Sound for Orochimaru. He had no choice however. If he got up, his disease would only kill him faster and someone else would come pilfer his bones in their quest to tarnish everything Orochimaru had worked for. Better sit still and keep his enemies from winning now instead of killing a few and giving the others a victory once they located his body.

As far as Kimimaro knew, Jirobo was the last of the Sound Four. Sakon and Ukon had fallen while retreating from Tayuya's sizable army of followers. Jirobo had said that he had managed to kill Kidomaru and Tayuya after they had had a long battle. Kimimaro doubted Jirobo's story, if the two were dead then he wouldn't have been keeping such a watchful vigil on the room. Wouldn't he have a group of followers do this? He was probably alone; he was the weakest of the Four after all. Why join him when the other members were far more powerful?

Jirobo detected something and shifted into a taijutsu stance. A moment later a girl with a spiked cap, red hair, and brown skin soared through the wall. Her body went limp as it smashed into Kimimaro's bed.

Kimimaro strained his eyes to see the girl in order to get a confirmation of what he suspected. It was Tayuya. "Lying, fat, trash shinobi," Kimimaro thought.

"Tayuya…what? How...who...?" Jirobo stuttered. Kimimaro heard the soft and fast footsteps of running shinobi from the hole Tayuya's body had made.

Several twangs and the sickening sound of senbon impacting a body later, Jirobo slumped and fell. "Poison," Kimimaro determined.

"Shizune, Sakura, stand guard. Kage, take the squad and secure the rest of the base," a woman's voice said. More footsteps and then silence.

"Who are you?" the woman questioned. Kimimaro looked up. A buxom woman with blonde hair and an odd jewel on her forehead returned the look. Kimimaro recognized the woman from pictures he had been shown by Orochimaru. This was Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.

"Kimimaro."

The woman's face twisted as she debated something mentally. She gingerly held her hands over Kimimaro and they glowed with a green light. "What are you doing?" Kimimaro coughed out.

"Healing you. Shizune, get over here."

"We are enemies. 'A shinobi must never do anything that would assist their enemies'," Kimimaro said, spouting one of the shinobi rules he had heard time and again around Orochimaru's bases.

"Orochimaru is dead. We have no reason to fight."

The Kaguya glared at Tsunade and a giant bone rib shot up and swatted away her hand. "I do not want the help of one of Orochimaru's foes."

"Don't you get it?" Tsunade yelled. "We're done fighting. I don't want to keep this up any longer. Otogakure is in ruins and Konoha could crush what remains! I don't want to have to do that!"

Kimimaro made a coughing laugh. "Otogakure is dead. It died with Orochimaru. That was all that made me stay with this village. I was part of Otogakure. Let me die with it."

A young girl's voice broke the silence Kimimaro's remark made. "You truly cared for Orochimaru… didn't you?"

"Yes."

"…Orochimaru made Otogakure, didn't he?" Kimimaro nodded. That was common knowledge. How would a Konoha ninja not know that? "Orochimaru may be dead, but couldn't you continue his legacy by creating a new Otogakure?"

"Then I could not accept your help. Konoha is an enemy of Oto."

Tsunade smiled as she caught on to what her apprentice was thinking. "The old Oto was. Why does the new Oto have to? Orochimaru attacked Konoha for revenge. You have no reason to seek vengeance."

"Orochimaru was killed by Konoha ninja." Kimimaro said matter-of-factly. Honestly, were all of these Konoha ninja so simple-minded?

"Orochimaru was killed when one of our ninja was acting in self-defense. It was do or die for him," Tsunade said.

The Kaguya lay in his life support bed mulling things over. "Leave me be. If I want to be saved, I will inform you in an hour."

An hour later, the Sound shinobi spoke. "You may begin." This was all Tsunade needed to hear.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey guys. Yeah, long time to update. My bad. Again, I have no idea when the next update will be. I can say that it will be a quicker than this one though. I'm planning it to be rather short, so yeah.


	7. Chapter 7: Around the Shinobi World

The leader of Akatsuki looked down upon the silver-haired individual Sasori had brainwashed years ago. A full study from the puppet master had confirmed what they had suspected about the boy's sudden personality change: Orochimaru had deactivated the mind control seal.

Kabuto looked solemn, a completely different attitude than the lackadaisical one he was said to possess. It appeared the boy knew enough of the Rinnegan user's power to properly fear him.

Beside the spy sat Sasori, or rather his puppet armor sat, Sasori himself curled up inside of it. How insecure was that man? They were in the heart of Ame with legions of loyal ninja ready to throw away their lives for Akatsuki's defense. He had issues for sure, but then again, so did everyone else in the organization.

"You realize your position?" the Tendo Path asked Kabuto. The boy nodded. "How will we know you are not betraying us?"

"It isn't a very good option for me, Leader," Kabuto said.

Nagato thought in his mobile throne in another room. Finally coming to a decision, he spoke through the Tendo Path. "Sasori, I am reliving Kabuto from your command. He will be best suited assisting our newest recruit. Come in please."

A large door behind Sasori and Kabuto opened. A soft pattering of footsteps came through the door, revealing a man wearing a baggy Akatsuki robe.

"Leader! This doesn't fit either!" the man whined. The only piece of clothing that did fit on the man, was an orange spiral mask that was fastened to his head. A small hole on the right side of the mask began the spiral and a large eye peered out from it. Kabuto noted Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring firmly planted on one of the man's fingers.

"We can worry about that later Tobi. This is your new partner for now. He is not an official Akatsuki member, but he has worked with our organization for some time."

Tobi looked at Sasori's Hiruko puppet quizzically. "But Leader, Sasori is a member isn't he?"

"No Tobi, the other person."

The man ran to Kabuto and vigorously shook the boy's hand. "Hello! My name is Tobi! Do you want to be Bestest Friends for Ever?" Kabuto's mouth gaped with surprise. "Yay! Bestest Friends for Ever!" Tobi then snapped to attention and saluted the Tendo Path before running out the door.

"You two are dismissed," Tendo said. Sasori waddled out of the room while Kabuto followed sullenly.

Away in the other room, Konan watched the constant rain of Amegakure bounce off of Akatsuki headquarter's sides. "Do you think that Kabuto can handle Madara?" she asked.

"It is not my place to decide. He requested it himself."

* * *

Kabuto sighed as he brushed past a blonde man. "Watch where you're going, un!" he exclaimed. Kabuto silently nodded. Back with Orochimaru no one dared tell him what to do. He was one of the Sanin's most valuable assets. Anyone that harmed him was as good as dead. Here he'd be smashed to pieces if he didn't watch himself (despite Pain forcing Akatsuki to be friendly to each other). He only knew two people that were semi-amicable. There was Kisame, but there was something distinctly _wrong_ about his appearance and that sword of his. The medic could not put his finger on it, but it just seemed off. The other was a ninja that had some unique magnetic ninjutsu, but he was partnered to Kakuzu so he'd probably be dead by the end of the week.

Kabuto silently opened the door to the apartment suite Leader had set aside for him and walked inside. It was very Spartan in design, but Kabuto could live with that. Orochimaru's hideouts were much worse.

The medic unfurled a small scroll and began reading. Within the scroll were the methods to perform the forbidden technique, Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation.

He had managed to pilfer the scroll for himself when he had returned to Oto after the invasion of Konoha. Orochimaru had not noticed or simply did not care. Kabuto hadn't yet figured out what he would do with the technique, but it was bound to be useful.

"Catching up on reading, eh Mister Yakushi?" a voice said. Kabuto turned and saw Tobi standing behind him. The man wore a hideously tight fitting Akatsuki cloak this time.

"Tobi? It's impolite to come into someone's room without asking permission," Kabuto said calmly, ignoring the fact that Tobi knew his last name all of a sudden.

"Who's Tobi?" the man said in all seriousness. Then the visible eye morphed into a Sharingan and the voice got much more sinister. "My name is Madara Uchiha."

Kabuto tensed. It was more than apparent that this man was insane. And he was stronger than he was. And he was alone. With no one to call for help. _Shit_. "That's impossible. Madara Uchiha is dead," Kabuto said carefully.

"The stories of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Suddenly Tobi appeared behind Kabuto, a kunai pointing into the small of his back. "You are to do one thing and one thing only, Kabuto. Find a way to access Orochimaru's White Snake abilities. Figure out how I can become immortal without all of the nasty side effects."

"How do you know about that jutsu?"

Behind his mask, Madara smiled. "I know everything Kabuto. You'll learn that in time."

The man reappeared in front of Kabuto, and the boy slumped to the ground, as if some sort of ninjutsu had released itself. "I'll get to work on it, Madara."

"Hm?" the man in the cloak said. "Who is Madara, Kabuto? I am only your Bestest Friend for Ever, Tobi! Wheeeeeeee!" Tobi opened the door and left the apartment, leaving the medic bewildered as to what had just happened.

* * *

Two blurs, both attracted and repelled to each other at the same time, darted both too and away from each other. Flashes of chakra radiated from the two warriors, as quick as lightning. Each looked for an opening. A slip of a foot or misplaced hand or second late counter was all they needed.

The female blur dodged the male blur's struck with a large arc. She hoped that the enemy would take the opening she had made. A second attack aimed at her stomach was replied to with a swirling ball of chakra. "Rotation!" The male blur was forcefully pushed away, yet he kept his balance and closed the short distance between the two. The Gentle Fist battle raged on.

But that one Rotation was all the female needed. She now had an advantage, a minimal advantage to be sure, but an advantage nonetheless. She openly invited the male to get closer.

The female dodged a burst of chakra here, another there, and another just to the left of that. A sweeping kick knocked the male down, giving the female the perfect opening. Focusing as hard as she could, Hinata raised her left hand behind her and lowered her right in front of her. Time seemed to freeze and a glowing green yin-yang symbol appeared on the ground, only visible to the girl. Soon after, various kanji appeared around the symbol. The male blur ceased to become a blur and hung suspended in midair. The female focused harder, and time returned to normal.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-two Palms! Sixty-four Palms!" The male was sent sprawling to the floor, sixty-four of his chakra points blazing with pain and completely useless. Off to the side, Hiashi nodded in approval. The technique had been successful.

"Hinata, your spar is finished. Go to your room and wash up for dinner," Hiashi Hyuuga ordered. The heiress nodded and left Hiashi's personal training gym. Two Branch Family members assisted their comrade-made-test-dummy out of the room.

Hiashi mused in silence. The girl had grown over the past year. It had taken time to bring her up to the necessary level to even dream of performing the Eight Trigrams: _Thirty-two_ Palms technique, but diligence and a watchful eye had proven to be far better teachers than that useless Jounin-sensei of hers. Hiashi had been unable to force her off of Konoha's active duty list unfortunately, but he did get a new Jounin to lead Team 8. Asuma Sarutobi had been one of his most outspoken opponents in the matter, but he did not have Hiashi's influence, despite his father being the Hokage. Until a suitable replacement would be found however, the different members of Team 8 had been forced to go to their respective clans for training.

Seeing the massive growth that Hinata had managed, it was a good move. Even better was that the Branch Family Jounin he had suggested for the new team leader was getting more approval from Koharu, Homura, and Danzo than the other prospective Jounin. It appeared Hinata's skills would only increase once he handed her off.

That was all Hiashi cared about.

* * *

Sakura glanced to the ground, then back to Lee, then back to the ground. "Will you go out on a date with me?" was the question that he had asked moments before. If he had asked a year ago, she would have instantly refused him just like she had during the Chunin Exams. Now she was not so sure.

It was glaringly obvious her infatuation with Sasuke was not getting anywhere; it was just last week she had asked him out to a date with the bribe of teaching the boy how to open the first of the Eight Inner Gates (he hesitantly had refused). And here Lee was, kind enough to persuade Guy to allow her to train with them and diligently helping Sakura everyday. Even better was that for what Sakura could see, Lee genuinely cared about her well being (at least more than Sasuke let on.)

"Sakura… I realize that I am not as… attractive as Sasuke, but I promise that if you accept my invitation, I will treat you as no other boyfriend has treated a girl before." This all was said without a flash of the teeth, or a leap, or a pose.

Sakura sat on the dry grass of the training field. The setting sun brilliantly reflected itself on the lake the two had just sparred on.

"This was why I asked you to train with us, Sakura. Guy-sensei thought it was a brilliant idea, so he helped me. But even though I really wanted to date you, I had another reason. I wanted to help you become a better shinobi… to help you better help those around you. I see that that is what you want most." Lee paused. "Sakura, even if you refuse, please allow me to help you train still."

"I need to think about this Lee. This is… just a lot to take in."

"I understand, Sakura. You may respond whenever you are ready." Lee walked away, neither in sadness or joy. And there Sakura stayed, thinking about the offer as the setting sun cast a red light across the land.

* * *

Kakashi mercilessly flipped through the pages of Sasuke's 'favorite' book. The diary was an interesting piece. It did have a lot of information on the Mangekyou Sharingan, almost _too_ much.

Kakashi had first suspected the book was something special during his and Sasuke's sparing sessions. Whenever they split off for their lunch break, Sasuke could be seen reading the book and eating his onigiri.

The Jounin had hoped that the book would tell him something that would give himself an edge over Itachi (because why else would Sasuke be reading it?). He knew a battle with the missing nin would be somewhere in his future. There was nothing that stood out as tactics on how to break out of Tsukuyomi, but there was a list of ideas on how to activate a Mangekyou Sharingan.

This little list was scribbled down quickly in the last few pages of the diary. The list also had a disclaimer saying how all of the ideas were hypothetical in nature, but that was better than nothing. The book did say that the best way to counter a Mangekyou was to have a Mangekyou…

So Kakashi Hatake took notes. Activating a Mangekyou looked to be a hard task and he doubted he would be able to weasel the book from under Sasuke's nose again.

* * *

Sakura looked Lee straight in the eye, then back at the ground, then back to his eyes. She had her answer, and she desperately hoped it was one she would not regret a few years down the road.

"I accept."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before the flame wars start, yes, Sakura and Lee will be a pairing. This will not become the major focus of the fanfic though. I can't write romance worth a crap. It'll be more of a background thing, influencing character's reactions to things instead of becoming a major, major plot thing. There may be a scene or two with some Sakura/Lee romance, I doubt it. As I said I can't write romance and I'd hate to bring down the quality of the fic for that.

EDIT: I've finally had time to come back to this and I noticed a lot of typos in this chapter. If anyone notices any, please inform me. I tend to find the majority of them in my own looking-over process, but I do miss some occasionally. Also, the next chapter should either be up today or tomorrow, hopefully. I'm almost done the proofreading on that one.


	8. Chapter 8: Team 7 Reunited

Naruto grinned at the sight of Konoha's walls. The two years of training had passed, and he was back. Not all of him had survived however; Naruto's old orange and blue jumpsuit had been traded for a black and orange suit that had been designed to keep heat while in the cold and cold when in the heat. Jiraiya, Naruto, and Tenzo walked reverently into Konoha. The two guard ninja perked up as the three entered.

"Hey, was that…?" the first said.

"Yeah. No doubt about it," said the second.

* * *

"It's been two years," Naruto said as the trio got further into the village.

"Yeah," Jiraiya replied. Naruto gave a large toothy grin and ran toward the center of the village. "He's certainly cheerful today, isn't he?"

"He has a lot of reasons to be happy. He won't have to put up with you for a while," Tenzo teased.

"You wound me," Jiraiya muttered. Further ahead of the Jounin, Naruto leapt up a large pole and glanced about the village.

"Boy, this brings back memories! It hasn't changed at all! I'm home everyone! Naruto Uzumaki has returned to Konohagakure!" the Genin exclaimed. The boy made sure to take everything in. "Hey, they finally added Grandma Tsunade's face up there," he said, pointing to the Hokage Monument.

"Naruto! Naruto is that you?" a girl's voice called up to him. Naruto glanced down and saw Sakura's distinctive pink hair. She looked mostly the same to when he had left, except her pink dress had been discarded in favor of a more form fitting pink outfit. "When did you get back to the village?"

"Just now." Naruto leapt off the pillar and made no noise as he landed. "Long time no see, eh Sakura?"

"Wait a minute, you've gotten taller than me, haven't you?"

Naruto experimentally lifted his hand to his head and checked both their heights. "Yeah, I guess I have."

Sakura smiled at Naruto. "So um, what do you think? Do I look any different now?"

"You kidding? Not really. You haven't changed at all," Naruto said, smiling. Sakura's smile disappeared instantly.

"Smooth, Naruto," a man's voice said. Naruto whirled around and therestood Sasuke Uchiha. He had kept his blue shirt, but two dull, grey shoulder guards had been strapped on and a bandolier with numerous pockets lay across his abdomen going from shoulder to thigh.

"Sasuke! Hey."

The Uchiha smirked and extended a hand to the Uzumaki. "Welcome back, dope."

Naruto grasped the hand and grinned. Sakura looked at her two teammates happily. Team 7 was back, and they might not try to kill each other this time.

"Sasuke, I can totally kick your ass now," Naruto said.

"Heh, really? I've mastered this thing. I can take whatever you dish out," Sasuke said pointing to his now active Mangekyou Sharingan

"Hm? I can do a stronger Rasengan now! And wind jutsu!"

"I still have fire, dope."

"Yeah well, what if we're fighting on a lake? I can swim!"

"You'll have to come up for air or I could just electrocute you." Sasuke stepped back and smirked at the hunched-up and annoyed state Naruto was in.

"Are you three done yet?" Jiraiya asked. "We kinda need to see Tsunade. Operation: Jiraiya isn't over yet."

"Come on Pervy Sage, give me a break huh?"

"Naruto…"

Tenzo laid a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. "Let them have their reunion, I'll inform Tsunade that he's back."

"Sweet, thanks Tenzo-sensei!" Naruto cried. The three Genin walked away from the men, talking excitedly about their training and life in Konoha.

"This is going to get me in trouble," Jiraiya muttered.

"Don't worry Jiraiya, I'll put in a good word for you. I'll also make sure to leave out all of the times you went to do 'research' instead of train your pupil."

"Hey, you're his 'Tenzo-_sensei_'."

* * *

"So what's happened while I was gone?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"Not much. Everyone in our class has become a Chunin," Sakura said.

Naruto spit-taked. "What! Sakura! Are you a Chunin?"

"Neither of us were promoted. I don't see why I wasn't. You'd think killing an S-ranked missing nin would get you that at least, right?" Sasuke muttered.

"Huh?"

Sasuke smirked. "I killed Orochimaru, no big deal."

Naruto spit-taked again. "What!"

"Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi? The unbeatable techniques?"

Naruto sheepishly rubbed his head. "Oh yeah, that." Naruto paused as he let the Chunin comment sink in properly. "So we're the lowest ranked team from our year?"

Sakura nodded. "Mhm. Neji, Hinata, Temari, and Kankuro did even better. They're Jounin now."

"What about Gaara?"

"He's the Kazekage. Bet he never killed an S-rank missing nin," Sasuke grumbled.

"That's…great," Naruto said smiling. "Well, I'm not about to be outdone by him. I'm still gonna be Hokage one day. Just you wait Gaara!"

* * *

The next day, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Tenzo and Guy stood before Tsunade's desk. The woman glanced at the reports that the teens' respective teachers had written.

"Jiraiya, Tenzo?" The two men straightened. "Do you feel Naruto's training is finished." They nodded. "Guy? Is Sakura's training complete?"

"The Fires of Youth burn brightly in her," Guy said. Tsunade waved her hand, implying she wanted more of an actual answer. "Yes, Hokage."

"Sasuke, I've already gotten Kakashi's report. You pass too." Tsunade smiled. "Before I place you three back on the list of active shinobi, there's someone I want you three to fight. I've kept him off missions so he'd be ready just for this moment.

"Your opponent, will be Kakashi Hatake."

"When will we be fighting him?" Sakura asked.

"As soon as you reach the training grounds. He'll be at number three."

* * *

The three Genin glared at Kakashi, their happy meeting of a few moments ago was over as they prepared for Kakashi's challenge. The Jounin brandished two shining bells. "The rules are the same as they were our first day. I don't care how you do it; just get these bells away from me. And remember…"

"If we're not prepared to kill ya…" Naruto said.

"We won't get the bells…" Sakura said.

"And teamwork is essential," Sasuke finished.

Kakashi nodded in approval "I was going easy on you last time. You three have until sunrise to get them." The tension grew between the four ninja. Sakura cracked her knuckles. Sasuke tightened his headband. Naruto got in an advanced taijutsu stance Jiraiya had taught him. Kakashi moved up his headband, revealing Obito's Sharingan. "Well then, shall we get started? Begin."

A gust of wind rattled the bells, and Naruto ran towards Kakashi, hands forming the sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. A dozen or so clones appeared next to Naruto, running forward with kunai drawn. Kakashi formed a hand sign. And he disappeared.

"He body flickered," Sasuke declared, stating the obvious.

"How are we supposed to find him now?" Sakura asked.

"Easy," Naruto said. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A small army of clones appeared next to the preexisting ones. "Get going guys, find Kakashi-sensei!" With a unanimous "Yes sir" the clones ran off in separate directions. "As soon as one of them gets dispelled I'll know where Kakashi-sensei is," Naruto explained.

"Pretty smart, for once," Sasuke said.

"Ignoring that, duck-butt." Naruto's eyes flashed. "I got him. He's near a river at the center of the training field. Let's go."

"Wait Naruto," Sasuke said. "We need a strategy. What can you two do now?"

"I can use medical ninjutsu, my taijutsu has improved considerably, and I can open the first two Inner Gates," Sakura said.

"I can make a bigger Rasengan, a Wind style Rasengan, and I've mastered Wind-style techniques," Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded, recalling that swirling ball of chakra Naruto had used in their battle on the hospital roof. All in all, they were well-rounded and Kakashi-sensei would have a hard time keeping up with all three of them. "My taijutsu has improved along with my Fire and Lightning ninjutsu. I have basic genjutsu skills and created a few Lightning-based offensive and defensive moves. Anyone have any ideas?"

"I can keep him occupied with my taijutsu and one of you could knock the bells off of him?" Sakura suggested.

"Wind jutsu is pretty good at cutting; I can cut the bells' strings!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Then you'll have to pick it up," Sasuke said. "I'll keep Kakashi too busy to get them. You're fast, right Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. "Who needs speed when I can be in ten places at once?"

"Good. Let's go then."

* * *

Kakashi waited. He had dispersed a single Shadow Clone and he knew the kids were waiting for something. He'd wait until all three attacked him before running off. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, it's just that the mission called for more survival tactics on his part. And if he determined that only one or two were fighting him, he'd knock them out and force the last to try desperate suicide attacks. If they all attacked, he'd just keep up the game of cat and mouse until the time limit expired.

Kakashi lopped a kunai behind him, intercepting a projectile aimed for a vital artery. The only thing that alerted Kakashi to a follow up attack was a shift in the air. Sakura landed next to Kakashi, fists glowing with chakra. Sakura's glowing first and taught muscles told Kakashi all he needed to know. Guy had imparted his strength, and Tsunade her chakra allocating abilities.

"What a _wonderful_ combination," Kakashi thought icily.

The two began fighting, however Kakashi was not fighting as much as dodging everything that came his way.

"Wind Style: Tornado Vortex Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Sakura departed from the battle as a swirling gale formed at Kakashi's feet, creating miniscule cuts at precise locations that Naruto controlled. Providing equal coverage across Kakashi's entire body, he hoped the Jounin would not notice the cut made to the bell's strings.

He did.

As the bells fell from Kakashi's belt, a substitution replaced the bells with a smoke bomb. And with that, Kakashi was gone.

"Damn it!" Naruto screamed in frustration. "That should've worked."

"Oh, it would've too. If Jiraiya hadn't told me about your training yesterday," a voice said behind Naruto.

The boy turned and Kakashi stood, with the bells grasped firmly in hand. In one smooth motion, Kakashi opened one of the pouches on his flak jacket, placed the bells inside, and shut it.

"I was hoping this wouldn't be an all out brawl," Kakashi said. "But, it looks like you've finally understood what the Shadow Clone Jutsu was made for. The mission has changed. Now you three need to force me to surrender."

"No problem," Naruto said.

"Oh now? Really?" Kakashi's hands sped through hand signs. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto's quick reply with a substitution saved him a nasty fiery death.

Naruto and Sakura stood were the Tornado Vortex Jutsu had caught Kakashi. Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

"Pity Sasuke isn't here," Kakashi said. "I thought he figured out that you three couldn't beat me on your own. That lone wolf attitude is going to get him killed."

The chirping of a thousand birds forced Kakashi to move instantly, flipping through more hand signs. "Chidori!" Sasuke and Kakashi yelled at the same time. Their two jutsus collided and nullified each other.

Sasuke back flipped and chucked multiple smoke bombs at Kakashi. Seeing an opening, Sakura jumped to Kakashi's branch and opened the first Inner Gate.

"Primary Lotus!" Sakura roared as she kicked Kakashi into the air. She appeared behind the man and gripped him tightly. They spiraled into the ground and with a loud thud, Sakura jumped from the impact.

A puff of smoke radiated from the crater Sakura had created. An odd black device with seals etched over it sat where Kakashi had hit the ground. "Kunai bomb! Get down!" Sakura said, recognizing the weapon as similar to one Tenten had begun using.

The device exploded, sending shrapnel and sharpened kunai everywhere. Naruto and Sakura dived for the ground. Sasuke stood still. "Chidori Stream!" Tendrils of electricity radiated from his body and knocked the incoming projectiles aside. "Are you two alright?"

Naruto grunted. "Yeah, I guess."

"This isn't working," Sakura mused. "We need to get him out into the open. He'll have less cover that way."

"Or you could just use that fancy Sharingan of yours," Naruto yelled.

"Oh yeah, I could make our sensei catch on unquenchable fire or I could put him into a coma. That'd be perfect for Sensei Appreciation Week."

"Both of you shut up!" Sakura exclaimed. "We need to find Kakashi-sensei."

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto impatiently. "Hey, I can't decide when the clones find him." Suddenly Naruto jerked. "He's in a clearing due east."

"An obvious trap," Sasuke muttered.

"What are we going to do then?" Sakura asked.

"Make our own."

* * *

Kakashi groaned as he heard Sasuke's Chidori sailing through the trees. His Sharingan worked in overdrive, tracking his pupil's movements. Kakashi lifted an arm, and prepared himself.

As the ball of lightning entered Kakashi's immediate area, he gripped Sasuke's arm, and threw the boy to the ground. Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke, but no substituted object lay in his place.

"A Shadow Clone?" Kakashi thought wildly. The screeches of several Chidoris reached Kakashi's ears. "He must have copied it from Naruto." Kakashi pulled a string of ninja wire that lay at his feet, activating the smoke and kunai bombs he had laid about the clearing. Kakashi leapt up and began making hand signs for an area-of-effect ninjutsu that would hopefully catch any clones his trap did not.

At least it would have if Sasuke hadn't dispersed the clones and his Chidori genjutsu and Sakura's chakra-infused fist hadn't smashed into Kakashi's back.

The Jounin sailed off; the surprise attack was quite interesting. It wasn't very damaging but was propelling him at a high rate, probably something Sakura had come up with while experimenting with chakra augmentation. Using slight bursts of wind chakra, Kakashi maneuvered himself to land on his feet a hundred yards away. Hopefully the three Genin did not see his trajectory.

A loud, continuous roar forced Kakashi to turn around. There stood Naruto with a single Shadow Clone at his side. In his hands was a ball of shuriken shaped chakra.

Kakashi's Sharingan stared into the ball of chakra and was unable to see the required flow of chakra to create the jutsu. "What sort of jutsu is that Naruto? My Sharingan isn't reading it quite right."

Naruto grinned his wide and toothy grin. "A completed Rasengan, Wind Style: Rasenshuriken."

"And what do you expect me to do then?"

"Surrender," Sasuke's said. He appeared next to Naruto with three Sasuke Shadow Clones. Sakura came only a second later. Her fists and feet glowed with chakra.

"I can just escape you know," Kakashi said cautiously.

Sasuke smirked. "Look down." And so Kakashi did. Underneath him was a seal etched into the ground. It had summoning seals laid across at regular intervals, kunai from the looks of it.

"That'd be twenty kunai bombs you're standing on, Kakashi-sensei. If you move, I'll turn them on," Sakura said.

"And if you dodge that, I'll just spear you with my Chidori," Sasuke said.

"And if that doesn't work, I'll throw this at you," Naruto said. As a demonstration, two more Naruto clones appeared from the brush and created a Rasenshuriken. One of the clones threw it at a tree far away from the four ninja. Reaching its target, the jutsu exploded sending dirt and wood everywhere.

Everyone, including Sasuke and Sakura looked at the devastation the single attack had caused. "I'll need to call up that 'Pervy Sage' sometime," Sasuke muttered.

"I see… Well then, I only have one option left." Kakashi reached into a pocket on his flack jacket. The Genin tensed, each ready to use their attack if necessary.

Kakashi produced a scroll and pumped chakra into it. A while handkerchief attached to a stick fell out. The Jounin grabbed the stick and waved it meekly. "I give up."

Sasuke smirked. "You can be such a pain."

Kakashi eye smiled. "You three have officially passed my test. Team 7 is now an active team again."

Naruto's yells of excitement reverberated throughout the training grounds. Tonight he'd be taking everyone out for ramen.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, that whole one or two day thing didn't happen, sorry bout that. Really bad time estimation on my part. Most of that last update was, as I said, proofreading because I failed to notice a lot of things, specifically a 'not' that made it sound like Hiashi wanted Hinata to not get stronger. That has been fixed. And no, I will not get a beta reader. My update/writing schedule is crazy enough as it is and I don't want to complicate it any more than I need to. So yeah, if you guys notice anything really horrible that I have missed in my newer and more intense gauntlet of revisions, please tell me. That'd be awesome.

Anyway, things are a wee bit different now than they are in canon, aren't they? I kept some of the dialogue similar because anything else would be out of character in a way. As soon as I get to the end of the Rescue Gaara Arc, there is really not going to be anything else like that ever again unless in really special cases.

Also, I've gotten two weird timelines to base this off of. I remember some source saying Shippuden is three years after the original series but when I went back and watched the anime I got two and a half years. That's why I made the training take a solid two years, gives me some time to put in a few special chapters before Akatsuki starts the hunt for the jinchuriki. As soon as that is done, we proceed with the Rescue Gaara arc because I'd have to start making up OCs and I'd rather not do to much of that and risk pissing everyone off.

As to when the next update is, your guess is as good as mine. I can say it will be out before the end of May for an absolute fact. Tests and review sessions are going to start taking up a lot of my time. I might be able to get it done in April but I really have no idea. So yeah.


	9. Chapter 9: The Chunin Exams

Tsunade couldn't help but smile at the exuberance Naruto gave off. It was the day after the test, but he still seemed just as energetic as he was when he had won. "Congratulations everyone. Team 7 is back on the roster."

"Alright! Now what's our first mission Granny Tsunade?"

"You're going to take an exam."

Naruto's face drooped, Sakura gave off more than a little annoyance, Sasuke's face twisted into a scowl, and Kakashi slid his head back into an Icha Icha book.

"No way! We just did a test I am not taking another one!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm talking about the Chunin Exams." Team 7 instantly relaxed a smidgen. "Your team can easily take on C and B class missions, but I can't send you on them as Genin. I have enough enemies that if they catch word that a team with three Genin, even as powerful as you three are, are taking on those sorts of missions, they'll use it as evidence that I'm not right for this job."

Naruto seemed convinced and happy (one less step until becoming Hokage after all).

"The exams are in Otogakure, aren't they?" Sasuke asked.

Tsunade nodded. "That's part of the reason why I'm sending you and only one other team. People are afraid of that village. If you three become Chunin there it'll make people a little less apprehensive about being allies with them."

* * *

Gaara mentally flicked away a grain of sand before it could embed itself in his eye. Being the jinchuriki of Shukaku had its merits in a desert. Kankuro stood next to him. They silently watched a class from Suna's ninja academy go about their daily drills in the village's plaza.

"Kankuro, are you sure Team L is ready?" Gaara asked.

"You've asked that a hundred times already. They'll do fine."

"Being successful in this exam is critical for Suna-Oto relations. Even if the Otokage is more diplomatic than his predecessor, people still harbor anger due to Orochimaru."

"Gaara, I've supervised these kids for a year now. They're some of the most promising puppeteers the village has seen in a while. They'll do fine."

Gaara turned to look at his brother. "Kankuro, have them be extra cautious. The Otokage was one of Orochimaru's leading subordinates."

Kankuro nodded, turned, and left to get his team ready for the exams.

* * *

Silence. The mess hall was silent, the dormitories were silent, the meeting rooms were silent, the corridors were silent. Everything was silent. It was how a shinobi's base should be.

What was not silent however, was Danzo's office. The room was suspiciously similar to an interrogation room; only a desk had been added. Three young shinobi knelt before the desk. One had pale skin and a revealing black uniform with a special inkpad attached to his side. Another had pitch black skin with the texture of dried leather. At his side was a pad full of blank paper and a pen. The last was a sinewy child who had no special tools attached to his person.

They were Danzo's finest youth operatives. Each had destroyed their emotions. Each had the skills to take on an average Chunin (and in certain circumstances an inexperienced Jounin) alone. And each had an unbending sense of loyalty to Danzo and Root.

"You three have a new mission. It is to attend the Chunin Exams in Otogakure and pose as Genin from Konohagakure. All of the documents allowing your entry have already been created and have been given to the ninja acting as your Jounin-sensei for this mission. That ninja will be Torune. You will meet him at the Valley of the End tomorrow evening at oh-seventeen hundred hours."

Danzo paused. He would customarily wait for any questions his underlings had for him. It was a useless gesture; they listened and understood everything he ever said with perfect clarity.

"Your objective is to make it to the second stage of the exams and attack Konohagakure Team 7 in the survival portion of the exam. Do not kill them; you are to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses. Upon your return to Konoha I want a detailed report on each of the members of that team from each of you as well as the usual detailed brief.

"Your codenames for this mission are Sai, Bo, and Naginata."

The three Root shinobi gave precise, measured nods of their heads. They rose in unison and left the office in perfect order, grace, and speed.

If Danzo were the emotional type, he would have been wiping a tear of joy from his eyes. However he was not. There were far more important things he needed to be doing than wiping tears from his eyes. Most of them had to do with plotting on how to take down Tsunade.

* * *

"Dang, this place is small," Naruto said. Team 7 looked onto a smattering of newly built and painted buildings. The town was small compared to Konoha, maybe fifty to a hundred buildings, and the streets seemed only slightly abuzz. The middle of the town showcased a large round building that looked suspiciously like the stadium that Konoha's Chunin Exam finals had been held. Each of the people walking about the town wore wildly different clothing, but they all had one unifying theme: those odd purple rope belts that Orochimaru so adored.

"They built all of this this past year," Sakura replied. "It's impressive. I can't believe Kimimaro could do all of this in such a sort period of time."

Team 7 continued their trek until they reached the expansive plains on the outskirts of the ninja village. Waiting for them, was a grey skinned man with white hair. "You guys Konohagakure Team 7?" he asked.

"Yes. We're here to participate in the Chunin Exams," Kakashi answered.

"Welcome to Otogakure. My name is Kiho and I'll be showing you the village," the man said. He turned and walked toward the village at a brisk pace. As they reached the village, Naruto blurted out the thing he could think of saying: "Hey, Kiho, are there any ramen shops here in Otogakure?" Sakura resisted the urge to smack the boy halfway across the city, but Sasuke's hand firmly gripped Sakura's arm.

"Either he asks it now or he does it during the exams," the Uchiha said.

"Quite a few actually," Kiho said, ignoring the actions of Naruto's teammates. "When we were building the village we had few professional cooks. Ramen was the easiest and cheapest thing for the builders and us ninja until we had gotten firmly established. We all took a liking to it."

"Sweet! Hey guys, did you hear that? Ramen every night!" Kiho turned back and watched the boy wave his arms excitedly. This kid wouldn't last a minute in the Chunin Exams.

* * *

Karin looked about the examination hall. All sorts of children a few years younger than she was were spaced out. From the brief she had received from Kimimaro, there were thirteen Genin teams present. Most were from Otogakure but a few were from the other villages. The turnout was depressing, but she knew just as everyone else involved that Orochimaru had left everyone with a bad taste in their mouth after Konoha had last held the exams.

The bright side was that Sasuke Uchiha's team was participating. She would recognize that face anywhere. Damn, that kid was hot. He looked even better now than he did when saving her two years ago. "I'll have to 'thank' him later," Karin thought.

Next to Karin, Misumi Tsurugi grumbled. "Can we get started already? I have other things I have to do today."

"You didn't have to be a proctor," Karin said angrily.

"Like you would have let me," he said. Being on that girl's team was irritating. Kabuto was at least fun to hang around. Karin just yelled all the time.

Karin cleared her throat. "Everyone, sit down and shut up. We're starting the exams." The sensor ignored the muffled 'About time' that came from her teammate.

"This is the written portion of the exam. You'll each be given a test and you must score a seventy to pass it. Anyone caught cheating will automatically be penalized one half point. If you are caught cheating ten times, you and your team will be thrown out of the exams. Your team will be sharing these ten tries. The test will last a full hour. Get started."

The shuffling of pencils and paper filled the room as the shinobi got started. "It'll be interesting to see who passes," Karin thought. "I know Sasuke and his team will get by, they've already had this test. Then again, I will be recording points too." Her Mind's Eye of the Kagura gave her and the rest of the examiners all the anti-cheating measures they would need.

* * *

Naruto chewed on his pencil nervously, careful not to let a stray splinter lodge itself in his tongue. He cautiously raised his hand. "Uh… can I go to the bathroom? Please? It's an emergency."

Karin nodded at one of the examiners sitting at the sides of the room. She detected no chakra activation from the boy and he seemed like he had to go. The Genin ran out of the room immediately. The sensor face palmed. Was that really the best Konoha could send here? And he was on Sasuke's team! It appeared the Uchiha's brains hadn't rubbed off on him.

Once inside a conviently located one person rest room, Naruto fervently stuffed the bathroom's sole toilet full of paper and flushed. This would be a small-scale prank, but it wasn't one he hadn't done before. The jinchuriki looked up at a spot above the bathroom door. A Shadow Clone had latched itself onto the ceiling and gave the original Naruto a thumbs up. The original nodded and made a quick prayer asking for good acting skills. He flushed.

"Hey. Hey! HEY! OH GOD IT'S NOT STOPPING!" Naruto cried. "Hey Mr. Sound-Ninja-Man! Get in here! Something's wrong with the toilet!"

The bathroom door burst open and the examiner stared at the overflowing toilet. "Damn, it kid! We have a plunger right over there!"

"How do you use that?"

The ninja was about to make a snide remark, but a smack from the back of the head stopped before it could enter his throat. Before the Chunin's unconscious body hit the floor, the real Naruto grabbed him and gently set him down. The Shadow Clone took a long look at the body before making a single hand sign. "Transformation Jutsu!"

Standing before Naruto was an exact copy of the examiner, rope belt and all. Procuring a line of ninja wire, both the Naruto and transformed clone tied the man up and hid him in a janitor's closet they had seen on the way to the restroom. Both Narutos smiled at each other and walked back into the testing room.

As the real Naruto continued chewing his pencil, the Shadow Clone had ample opportunity to scour the room for answers on his own.

* * *

Sasuke stifled a groan. The clock at the front of the room said they were twenty minutes into the exam. He had already found and copied a ninja's answers with his Sharingan. Halfway across the room, Sakura had her head down in a nap. She had already finished the test too, but with her own smarts instead of cheating.

The Uchiha knew Naruto had done something to his examiner when he had gone to the bathroom. He had just gone off to go again, so something must be up. Or alternatively, the boy had a run in with some food poisoning from a ramen shop. A moment later, Naruto entered back into the room with a big smile on his face. Once he sat down, his pencil sped across his paper with (what Sasuke assumed) correct answers.

A few minutes later, Karin eyed her stop watch and stood up. "Put down your pencils." Seven of the remaining teams sighed in relief while the members of Sasuke's team did not. "What are you sighing for? The test isn't over. There's one last question." She ignored the groans from the inexperienced teams. "This last question will be worth forty percent of the final score. And there is a catch. If you fail this test, not only are you kicked out of the exams, you can never reapply to become a Chunin." The shocked faces on many of the Genin amused the girl. "You may exempt yourselves from the final question and kick out your team in the process. Doing this will mean you can not participate further in the exam but future exams will still be open to you. Anyone who wants to quit, just raise your hands."

Only one Genin raised his hand. He was from Oto too, that was a pity. She'd hate to see how his Jounin-sensei would react to this.

"Are you all ready then?" she asked as the team left the room. "There is no final question. You automatically get forty percent correct." Karin paused; no outbursts this year, that was something new. "The point of this exam was twofold, see how well you are at gathering information discreetly, or cheating, and if you would crumple under pressure. Both are necessary to become Chunin."

Misumi sighed. It was his turn now. "The next stage of the Chunin Exams will be held at an abandoned military base. You each will be given instructions on how to reach the base from one of the examiners on your way out the door. You need to be at the designated spot tomorrow morning at seven AM."

The orange eyesore that was Sasuke's teammate slapped the boy on his back. "Come on Duck-butt! We're going for ramen! Let's go Sakura!" The girl barely managed to get a set of directions as the boy tore the two from the room.

* * *

The next day, the seven remaining teams stood before Misumi, release forms already signed. The Sound Chunin glanced at his watch and cleared his throat. "The second part of the exams will soon begin. Each of you will be handed either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. The mission is simple, once the alarm goes off, you're to enter the base and find a team with the other scroll. Fight them and once you win, take their scroll. When you have a complete set, go to the central command center and wait until the round is over. The round will last two full days. All participants must stay inside the confines of the base at all times."

A Chunin handed Sasuke a Heaven Scroll and left to hand an unsociable and quiet team with Konoha headbands an Earth Scroll. Team 7 walked toward their specific entrance gate and quickly checked their rations and supplies.

"I'll take point," Sasuke said. "If I see anything up ahead I'll let you know. Sakura, take the middle position, if you detect any genjutsu, dispel it. Naruto, you take the rear. If anything gets behind us, its up to you to tell us so we can deal with it, got it?"

Naruto and Sakura nodded. "No problem," they both said.

One gate away from Team 7, Danzo's operatives prepared themselves. Sai checked his bottle of ink one last time, Bo was scribbling seals onto slips of paper, and Naginata meditated between the two.

A few minutes later, the bell signaling the beginning of the second round rang. The hunt was on.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ugh, I hate this chapter! I had no other ideas how to do the Chunin Exams again with different tests that tested the same thing and it made sense that Oto would copy Konoha and it doesn't matter I hate this chapter. I will not deny that the next test is basically the same as the canon second test and that there will be a finals just like in canon too, but there will be different opponents obviously and that'll keep things interesting right?


	10. Chapter 10: Root

Sasuke's eyes looked across the hall. There were no sources of chakra running ahead of him. Everything was looking fairly good so far. Ahead the hallway opened into a large dome of a room. From what his Sharingan could detect, Sasuke supposed it was a cafeteria or assembly room of sorts.

A hub such as that would make an excellent place for a nest of traps. They could easily ensnare a team passing through the area. Relating this to his team mates, Team 7 darted through the corridor, Sakura already pulling out storage scrolls filled to the brim with ninja wire, kunai bombs, and explosive tags.

A small squeak however went unnoticed. A white mouse with slick fur padded along after the team, its eyes writing down everything it noticed.

* * *

Naginata and Bo waited patiently as Sai deciphered an ink mouse's messages. Sai quickly mopped up the ink from his mouse with his brush and rearranged it into a map of the area with markers indicating their location and Team 7's.

"You will go through the corridors," Bo said to Sai. "Naginata, you will come with me. We will flank them."

Naginata rose from his lotus position delicately and nodded. Sai scribbled several drawings on his ink paper, the design that Bo had come to associate now with lions.

"Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll." The paintings leapt off the page rather literally and waited for Sai's orders. Placing his brush and scroll back on his belt, Sai ran down the hallway towards the trap Team 7 had erected with his pack following him. A single lion bounced before Sai, the sacrificed pawn. As it reached the room, Sai could almost hear Team 7's surprise as their traps went off far earlier than they had anticipated.

Far behind Sai and his lions, Bo held a stack of paper tags in his hand. Placing one upon the wall ahead of him instantly caused it to shatter. And there Bo and Naginata went, placing tags and moving across fallen walls, slowly flanking Team 7.

* * *

As the small army of lions bounded through the depleted trap, Sasuke threw several shuriken toward them, watching as the bladed weapons easily sliced through the lion's white skin. His Sharingan eyes were already looking down the corridor, looking for the summoner of the lions.

"Naruto, there's a single guy down there. He must have summoned them," Sasuke yelled.

"Got it," Naruto replied, bringing his hands into the sign for his Shadow Clones. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A dozen Narutos appeared beside him. They ran forward as one, the Clones acting as a living shield against the ink lions.

A crumbling sound diverted both Sasuke and Sakura's attention to straight behind them. Two more attackers, a small thin man and a boy whose skin had the color of pitch, stared at them through a crumbled wall. "What one do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"The black guy," she said. Sakura quickly closed the distance between them using her charka-enhanced legs. Her right hand glowed with charka and was cocked back, potential energy building.

Bo stood calmly and placed his leftover tags across his arms and chest. Naginata jumped away from the two, already knowing what would happen. As Sakura's fist reached Bo's chest, the first of his tags exploded, sending Sakura wheeling away.

Naginata, pleased with his position, planted his feet on the ground and went through several hand signs. "Water Style: Cloud Generation." White puffy clouds slowly appeared inside of the assembly area, casting their shadows about the ground.

"An obvious set up for something else," Sasuke thought. "Its not as covering as the Hidden Mist Jutsu though, so he can't intend to use it for stealth attacks. Is it to amplify something?"

"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu."

"Damn it," Sasuke muttered, flipping through hand signs. "Extended Chidori Stream!" Lightning charka burst from every pore in Sasuke's body, lashing out at all of the clouds near Sasuke. The lack of their shadows stopped the Shadow Possession in its tracks, its range already hampered by the lack of light in the room.

Naginata sighed and procured several explosive notes attached to kunai. Lopping the kunai toward the ceiling, their explosions all occurred simultaneously, causing sunlight to filter through newly-formed holes. Worse, Sasuke noticed the rubble and debris from the explosions were casting small but crucial shadows across the floor.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu."

* * *

Sai sat behind his wall of ink lions, pen whisking across his scroll so he could create more fighters. The Shadow Clones seemed to be having trouble against the ink lions in the close quarters of the wall. The boy would run out of patience long before Sai ran out of ink.

"Wind Style: Wind Scythe!" Sai heard Naruto yell. A quick gust of wind blew down the corridor, slicing through the ink lions and Shadow Clones. At the mouth of the corridor was Naruto, two swirling balls of chakra in his hands.

Making one last swipe of his pen, Sai quickly set his lions loose in a lame attempt to block the attack. Hidden beneath the lions however was a single ink snake.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he slammed the balls of chakra into two of the ink lions, freeing his hands to fight Sai. Reaching his legs unnoticed, the snake expanded and wrapped itself about Naruto. Arms and legs bound, Naruto fell to the floor with a loud thud. "Damn it!"

Sai walked slowly toward the Genin and smirked robotically. "I believe it is custom that I am supposed to gloat now. I read it in a book once, although my sensei did not approve of that novel. He called it 'trash for the plebiscites'."

"Shut up."

"'You are not in a position to make demands. Mwahahaha,'" Sai said as if rehearsed.

* * *

Sakura eyed her opponent. "He uses explosives in close combat so I can't get too close. The explosions don't have any effect on him though," she thought.

"You are a taijutsu specialist. I specialize in applications of explosions. You can not win," Bo said, breaking the silence between the two.

Defiantly, Sakura produced a storage scroll. Pumping small amounts of chakra into the scroll, Sakura grasped a small spherical device. Redirecting her chakra and focusing, she opened the first Inner Gate. Her senses went into overdrive, taking in every little thing. Her muscles surged with energy.

In a flash, Sakura threw the sphere at Bo and waited for its seals to activate. A white flash emanated from the sphere. The flash would have blinded Sakura had she not known to close her eyes. Sakura ran right next to Bo and kicked him straight into the air.

Sakura heard and felt a rush of air gust out of Bo's stomach as the kick connected. The combination of flash bomb and opening kick appeared to be keeping him from activating his explosive tags, just as Sakura planned.

Leaping ahead of Bo, Sakura raised her hands far above her head. "Blossoming Lotus!" Sakura slammed her hands down, catching Bo and sending him plummeting into the floor.

Sakura deftly landed a few feet away from him. Shunting her chakra away from offensive capabilities, Sakura instantly switched to her medical chakra and began inspecting her enemy's body for damage. She would only heal his vitals while damaging his legs and arms, that way the boy could still be a ninja, just not one that would attack Team 7 again.

* * *

Dodging another tendril from Naginata's Shadow Possession, Sasuke was getting a little annoyed. He had killed Orochimaru! He had a Mangekyou Sharingan! How was he troubled by this Shikamaru wannabe?

Sasuke dodged yet another tendril and flipped through several hand signs. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A dozen balls of fire flew from Sasuke's mouth and began tracking Naginata. Breaking his jutsu as quickly as he could, Naginata began going through his own hand signs. "Water Style: Water Prison." As Naginata said this, the water left over from his Cloud Generation jumped to Naginata's body, encasing him a sphere of water.

The fire bolts were neutralized by the water, only creating a tiny trail of steam as they hit it. Then Naginata noticably began lessening his concentration of the Water Prison, preparing to use his Shadow Possession once more. As part of his training in Root, Naginata had learned how to regulate his breathing, allowing him to stay submerged for over ten minutes. With his shield and Shadow Possession, the Uchiha didn't stand a chance.

However, there was only one problem, Sasuke had disappeared.

Naginata's eye's darted around the room, searching for his target. It was to no avail, he was gone. It was then Naginata heard a shout: "Fire Style: Continuous Jet!" Naginata's eyes stared straight above him, Sasuke placing a hand to his mouth and blowing. A long thin jet of fire sprayed from Sasuke's mouth, pouring over the Water Prison. Slowly, Naginata felt the temperature rise, his only defense now being water's high heat capacity and that defense would not last long.

* * *

Sai smiled robotically at Naruto. Sai had just witnessed the end of Bo's fight and had seen Naginata become incased in his own prison. He himself had succeeded however and he took great pride in this. A victory for Sai meant a victory for Root and that meant a victory for Danzo and that meant a victory for a better Konohagakure.

It was then Sai wondered what he would do now. He would be unable to fight both Sakura and Sasuke. His taijutsu was lacking the punch Bo possessed and his ink animals were less strategic than Naginata's Shadow Possession and Water Style techniques. He would have to retreat or surrender and that would nullify his victory. Then again, Danzo had said to only test the Genin and it would not appear to be a failure in the eyes of Sai's superior. And either way that wouldn't really matter, Sai would save Naginata and Bo regardless of the circumstances. Not from any personal reason (Root greatly disapproved of any relationships, friendly, romantic, or otherwise), but because they would be needed in future missions.

All through Sai's personal musings, Naruto watched his captor silently and in contempt. If he hadn't used those stupid animal things he wouldn't be in this miserable situation all tied up. Worse still, this was where he was_ supposed_ to be. As soon as he was made he had his instructions: 'Stall the pale guy.' And so the Shadow Clone and his brethren did so. This Clone had been given plenty of chakra, enough for two Rasengans and two Wind Style techniques but he'd been captured before he could use his second.

Suddenly, the Clone began to feel light headed, as if his chakra was leaving his body. "Am I dying?" the Clone wondered. And then it hit him, he was being dispelled. Damn it. He wanted to watch that smug freaky asshole get beaten up.

Sai looked down at the pile of smoke emanating from his ink snake. As the thought he had captured a diversion dawned on him, the Root operative was smashed in the face by an arm attached to a very much free Jinchuriki.

* * *

Sasuke watched from behind his jet of fire as the Water Prison began moving wildly. "Alright… now!" Sasuke stopped his jutsu and ran forward right behind his fire, kunai in hand.

Stabbing his hand into the weakened Water Prison, Sasuke threw Naginata to the ground and held a kunai to the Root member's throat.

"Where's your scroll?"

"Sai has it…"

"I don't know who that is," Sasuke said calmly, pressing the kunai slightly tighter to Naginata's neck.

"Naruto's opponent…" Sasuke smiled and withdrew his kunai. Then he kicked Naginata in the stomach.

"You got here after I said Naruto's name," Sasuke growled. "Who are you?" Sasuke did not notice the one-handed seal Naginata weakly made. In a puff of smoke, Naginata was gone, replaced with their Earth Scroll.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called.

"Yeah?"

"How's your guy?"

"Out cold. I cut a few of his ligaments, he won't be coming after us anytime soon."

"Good, go do that to Naruto's guy. My guy had the scroll we need. Let's get our bearings again and we'll head to the command center."

* * *

A day and a half later, Misumi glanced at the three teams of Genin in the command center of the base. A team from Suna, and Konoha had made it along with a single team from Oto. The Genin from Konohagakure were familiar to him; he had fought the black-haired one in the Chunin Exams he had participated in three years ago. Considering how fast his team had completed the second round, he suspected they would have very little trouble defeating their opponents in the finals.

"Alright, now listen up. The second part of the exams are over. The final part of the exam will be held in a tournament style. The winner of the tournament will not neccesarilly become a Chunin, it depends on their ability as demonstrated in their matches. Come forward and pick a number from this pouch."

Each team stepped forward and pulled out a number and returned to their lines facing Misumi. "Now read them off."

"One," an Oto Genin named Daisuke said.

"Two," said Sasuke, apparently uninterested.

"Three," a female Oto Genin named Emi replied.

"Four," Sakura replied.

"Five," a portly Suna ninja named said.

"Six," Naruto reported.

"Seven," a lean Suna Genin said.

"Eight," the last Suna ninja said.

"Nine," said Arata, the final Oto Genin.

Misumi pointed at one of his Chunin flunkies. Wheeling out a white board, Misumi took the names from the Genin and their tags. As the flunky finished drawing a tournament bracket on the board, Misumi began writing their names.

"For the first round, Daisuke gets a by. Then it will be Sasuke versus Emi, Sakura versus Souta, Naruto versus Takeshi, and Ken'ichi versus Arata," Misumi said, reading their names off in order of their numbers.

Misumi turned toward the Genin once more. "You have one full month to train. If you are not at the stadium were the tournament is to be held at eight in the morning, you shall be disqualified."

* * *

Team 7 sat around Kakashi near a small ramen shop that had quickly become Naruto's favorite place in Otogakure. "So you all passed, that's good. I'd be a little annoyed if you hadn't," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei, will you be instructing only one of us like you did last year?" Sakura asked.

"Do you mean, 'Will I actually train you two for once?'" Kakashi let Saskura stammer before he raised a hand to quiet her down. "The answer is no. I have nothing to teach any of you. You're either specialized in an area I am not or would see little to no improvement with me as your instructor."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Naruto cried. "You are not sticking me with a closet perv again!"

"Why would I do that when I can give you one that is out of the closet?"

"Who would that be?" Sasuke said.

"Naruto's very own Pervy Sage," Kakashi said happily as his hand caught a kunai sent flying in his direction.

"GOD DAMMNIT! NOT YOU TOO!" Jiraiya yelled further down the road.

"Hey, Pervy Sage!" Naruto called out happily. "Why are you here?"

Jiraiya quickly calmed down as he walked toward Team 7, pleased that the conversation's direction was changing. "I'm here guarding Tsunade, she's going to be watching the finals. In the meantime I get to teach you," he said pointing to Naruto.

"And the rest of us?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll be training with Tsunade, Sakura. Sasuke, here have some scrolls," Jiraiya said, hefting a pile of unseen scrolls from out of nowhere on to Sasuke. "I found most of these in the Uchiha and Konoha libraries. Maybe they'll have some techniques in there you can practice."

Kakashi eye-smiled and did a quick wave. "Be seeing you," he said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya pointed Sakura to the direction of Tsunade and he and Naruto left for a secluded place to train. Sasuke sat alone, pondering what to do with all of the scrolls before him.

"Are you Sasuke Uchiha?" a voice asked from behind the boy.

"Yes," Sasuke said while turning around. Sasuke stopped midturn however, eyes reaching his addressor's face. The man he was speaking to had bleach white skin and even whiter hair. He was clothed in a kage gown with a dark purple rope belt keeping the gown on him. His face was punctuated by two small red dots above his eyes and eye shadow of the same color.

"I am Kimimaro Kaguya. I would like to challenge you to a spar. I wish to see why my predecessor obsessed was over you."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long delay guys. Again, the ending was dull. No other way to introduce it without making it longer and having to make up more OCs with techniques and personalities and stuff. Next chapter will be another training one, but there shall be concentrated awesome too. Don't worry guys.


	11. Chapter 11: Swords and Coffins

Satisfied that the two were far enough away from the village, Jiraiya indicated for Naruto to stop. Diving deep into a pouch at his side, Jiraiya procured two kunai-length black bars. "Happy birthday Naruto."

"It's not my birthday."

"Shut up and take it," Jiraiya muttered. Naruto took both bars and looked at them quizzically.

"What are these for?"

Jiraiya grew a large grin on his face as he snatched a bar from Naruto's hand. With a flick of his wrist, the bar separated into two bars held at a single pivot point at the bottom. A fine yet tough white cloth was placed between the bars.

"A fan?"

"All the real fun and practical Wind techniques need something to channel them. Arms and mouths work alright but a medium amplifies it, makes it cost less chakra, and makes it a lot easier to perform. And that's why I got these made for you." Naruto flicked open his fan and began experimenting on the grass around them. "A few friends of mine made them for you once I explained your situation. Plus I got them to put a few tricks in them."

"Like what?" Naruto asked half-paying attention, half-cutting Otogakure's lawn.

"Close your fan and channel some chakra into it." As Naruto did so, a fine blue chakra blade extended from the end of the weapon. "Now add in some Wind chakra." The blade grew slightly larger and gained a slight white tinge. "It was specifically made to channel chakra. Sure you can do it with anything, but these amplify the chakra and make a nice little sword if a kunai or Rasengan doesn't fit your needs."

Naruto closed his fan and wrapped his arms around his sensei. "Thanks Pervy-sensei! This is awesome!" Jiraiya ignored the continuation of his adjective and hugged the boy back. It was about time he started acting like Naruto's godfather. The moment was inexplicably ruined when Naruto opened his mouth: "When did you make these? They must have took a while. Weren't you busy at the whore house during my training?"

"I did other things!" Jiraiya yelled as the two ended their hug.

"Like?"

"Like getting you these things and getting scrolls with Wind techniques..."

"And buying cheap whores?"

"For the last time, they were not cheap!"

* * *

Juugo's gaze traveled up and down Kimimaro. His charge was never this open about fighting, in fact Kimimaro rather disliked fighting, opting for a nonconfronational method to solving his problems. "Sasuke is different," Juugo remembered Kimimaro say. "I wish to know why Orochimaru killed himself for him."

The three shinobi stood together in a large open plain about a half hour from the village. During the travel time the two had set up their basic rules: No killing strikes and no Mangekyou jutsu. Everything else was fair game.

"Sasuke, I will allow you the first move," Kimimaro said calmly. Sasuke nodded and began circling his opponent until he was back to his original position. Making two hand signs, Sasuke created five Shadow Clones behind him. The real Sasuke leapt into the air as his five clones ran toward their target.

Kimimaro's arm made a gurgling noise as two bones leapt from his hands. Grabbing the bones, Kimimaro elongated them into swords and made a lazy stab at the first clone. As he expected, the clone dispersed. What he did not expect however, was the Lightning chakra that appeared in the clone's place; chakra that leapt across Kimimaro's sword and onto his arm.

The Kaguya grunted in pain. Raising his other arm parallel to the clones, several pops were heard as finger bones began shooting towards them dispelling the other four. In the air, Sasuke's mind whirled, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. "A lack of hand signs, must either be a kekkei genkai or something Orochimaru created."

Sasuke, reaching the highest point of his jump, raised his hand to his mouth. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Kimimaro nimbly jumped to the side and raised his arm an fired several finger bones.

Sasuke tried to ignore the sharp pain as the projectiles imbedded themselves in his right arm, the Uchiha made a few quick handsigns. Filling his palm with lightning chakra, the tell-tale shape of the Chidori materialized. As Sasuke landed, the Chidori expanded into what could best be described as a spear, and it was getting longer.

Kimimaro stared at the Chidori spear, raising his bone sword into a fighting stance. Sasuke could have sworn he heard the sword crunch and it turn a darker shade of white. The Kaguya then ran forward as did Sasuke, the two's weapons pointed straight ahead.

Suddenly the bone elongated, the sharpened tip aimed for Sasuke's right shoulder. The Chidori spear rocketed forward, leaving Sasuke's hand and heading for Kimimaro's chest. Recognizing the attack, the bone sword's length decreased and it was flung in the direction of the Chidori, the lightning jutsu dissipating into the sword.

The Otokage's arms no longer in position to attack, Sasuke's fist jabbed into Kimimaro's face, knocking his opponent down. As Kimimaro hit the ground, the two looked at each other, Sasuke with a kunai at Kimimaro's neck.

"You're real good," Sasuke smirked.

"As are you," Kimimaro replied, a faint smile appearing on his face. "I see now why Orochimaru desired your body. However you must pay more attention."

Sasuke stood puzzled for a moment. "I paid better attention than you did."

"Not quite." Then Sasuke felt a touch on his leg, a bone spear was pointing from Kimimaro's wrist and into Sasuke's calf.

"I have the killing blow though."

Kimimaro ceased smiling. "The current situation is of no importance. You saw how quick I can use my kekkei genkai. If I were that fast in our battle and did not leave myself as open as I did for that last attack, the outcome would have been far different."

Sasuke put away his kunai and helped the Otokage up. The two stood in silence.

"Your sensei taught you well. Your biggest threat now is your lack of humility." Sasuke opened his mouth to throw out a reply. "Saying it only proves it.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I will present to you an offer. I wish to train you for the Chunin Exams. From what I have seen, I have no doubt you will pass. But perhaps we can fix your flaw." The kage left his true motive unsaid, a desire to train his master's desired protégé, to let him know the arts he would learn and perform under any other circumstance.

Sasuke nodded. "I accept."

The Kaguya handed Sasuke his bone sword. "I will be teaching you the arts of kenjutsu. Humility is the first requirement. There will always be a student of the arts better than you. It is not as it is with normal ninjutsu, where skill can be outdone with teamwork and strategy.

"The second, is a willingness to learn."

Sasuke nodded grimly and Kimimaro sprouted a bone sword for himself. "Then let us begin."

* * *

Tobi was a fairly amiable man but seemed to gain much ire from the rest of Akatasuki and much fear from Kabuto, but Madara could live with that. Every time he entered his slave's room the boy would jump ever-so-slightly. It brought a smile to the old man's lips each and every single time.

"How far have you gotten?" Madara would ask. Kabuto would form a hand seal and a coffin would appear before them. He would lift off the lid and show the disfigured body inside. "Work harder," Madara would say in reply, and he would leave.

But today, was a special day, the coffin was already in the room and Kabuto had the air of a academy student that had just performed his first ninjutsu.

"How far have you gotten?"

Kabuto's hand formed a single seal and the coffin lid fell on its own. Inside was a perfect replica of a woman. The only thing betraying her lack of life was her pallid skin. She wore a very simple ensemble and a Sound headband lay across her head. A paper note with a few simple seals lay on her bosom. The girl was silent and unmoving, but the look in her eyes showed all the emotion she could muster, complete and absolute fear.

"Ah. Excellent, Kabuto. She still has some semblance of sentience though, I thought you were supposed to remove that?"

"Yes, but it was proving difficult. I am experimenting with different tags. So far this one works the best."

Madara walked toward the girl and tore off some skin on her arm. The skin in his hand crumbled and it slowly reappeared on her person. "The regeneration needs work, but this will do for now.

"I am leaving for a little business trip, Kabuto. I want the technique perfected then and I want more progress on the tags."

"When will you be back?"

"Two days."

Kabuto's pleas for more time were killed in his throat. You didn't question Madara, now about this. The Uchiha stared at Kabuto, Sharingan eyes staring to the back of his skull. The medic flinched.

"Heh. Have fun, Mister Yakushi," Tobi said, the Madara guise stowed away. And with that Tobi disappeared from the room, Kabuto left with his unmoving zombie.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, authorial insecurities for this chapter, no idea how in-character you guys think Kimimaro is. I mean, different stuff happened so he's gonna be different, but its really confusing in my end. Him and Sasuke. Also short chapter, planned this one to be short because I didn't want to get all the round one fights in their own separate chapter. No idea when that will be up, but I'm doing basic brain storming on how all those are gonna go right now.

Only other thing story-wise I need to say, I have my plan for Madara already. I know already it is nothing like what will happen now in the manga. I planned it out before it got to far into the Shinobi World War arc and its going to get less and less possible as it goes on. If I manage to get it remotely right, I'll bake myself some cookies.

But anyway, Chapter 11! Woot! 11 more chapters than I thought I would write. Really happy with all the views I'm getting. Only downside is I have no idea what any of you think of this. Is it Bile Fascination or am I actually doing good here? So yeah, gonna regret this, but please review. It'd be awesome. If the story sucks I can't improve unless I know what to fix and if it is good and you have a few nitpicks, I'd love to know what those are so they aren't picky anymore.


	12. Chapter 12: The Finals

The scarcely populated Otogakure's streets were even less populated today, practically everyone was in the large stadium for the finals of the Chunin Exams. The purple bow belts of Oto nin blotted out the one or two foreigners in the stadium's seats. Down on the field, the nine remaining Genin stood with the rest of their teammates and their Jounin-senseis. Team 7 was the quietest of all the teams. For them this wasn't an accomplishment to be siked for, it was a moment to be gauging up their potential foes. The few differences in Team 7 from before was an iron sword strapped to Sasuke's back and Naruto's fans at his hips. Naruto decided to break their silence. "So, I see you got here on time, Duckbutt."

"A little late to be harping on that again isn't it, Dope?"

"Yeah, well... Rasengans!"

"That's your reply to everything I ever do." Sasuke paused and ignored Naruto's irritation for once. "We're going to end up fighting each other at some point in this tournament," he said.

The teammates nodded. "We have to give it our all. No matter what," Sakura said.

"This is about us becoming Chunin. We'll be a team again once its all over," Naruto said. "And until then, Rasengans. Everywhere," he sneered at Sasuke.

"Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Fuck you, Duckbutt. Fuck you."

It was then that Misumi appeared in the midst of the Genin and made a quick hand seal to amplify his voice. "Alright, Chunin Exams are about to begin. This whole thing was done to test your abilities as a ninja and a team and yadda yadda yadda. All that stuff. Whoever wins here is not a Chunin automatically, it depends on skills shown and blah blah blah. Anything goes, blah blah blah, except killing, that gets you disqualified, bleh bleh bleh. Ok? Good. Daisuke from Suna gets a by. First match Sasuke from Konoha and Emi from Oto. Make this match worth all our time."

As everyone cleared the arena (exempting Sasuke and Emi), Misumi had a big smile on his face. That opening speech was shitty enough he would never have to do this again! Even better, there were no any real important foreign dignitaries to offend. "Suck it, Karin."

Sasuke and Emi stood about three yards from each other, sizing each other up. "Uchiha? Aren't they all dead?" Emi said. It wasn't as much a question as a statement of disbelief.

Sasuke smirked and his Sharingan flashed in his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you. I know you'd rather fight a dead man, probably the only way you could win."

"Blah blah blah! Start already!" Misumi ordered.

"Alright, let's go then..." Sasuke paused as he noticed Emi began to blur and become more opaque. "No handsigns... kekkei genkai then," Sasuke muttered as he fell into a battle stance. Then the blur that was Emi flashed to Sasuke's left, his Sharingan barely able to keep up with the kekkei genkai. His arm flashed out, to try and knock the girl out of it but he missed. A sharp jab hit his back and he started to fall, more punches and jabs began to hit him.

As he fell, Sasuke reached for the ground and formed a single hand seal. "Chidori Stream!"

Lighting chakra erupted from the ground and leapt up onto Emi's body. She screamed and crumpled, the chakra violently interrupting her kekkei genkai.

Regaining his footing, Sasuke twirled and punched the girl, sending her flying several feet away.

"I'm not just some random ninja. If you're going to use something like that, have a backup in mind." Retrieving a kunai from his bandolier, Sasuke flicked it so it landed uncomfortably close to Emi's neck.

Misumi slowly made his hand sign for the sound amplification jutsu. "Uh... Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha wins. Next up is Sakura from Konoha versus Souta from Suna. Yeah..."

* * *

The stands, as meagerly filled as they were, roared with gossip and bets. "Damn, I want to be down there," Tsunade said, sitting in the observation box along with the other Kage. "So Kazekage, how about a bet?"

"Lady Tsunade, I don't think that is appropriate," Shizune said.

"Let the man watch the curbstomps in peace," Jiraiya muttered from behind Tsunade's chair.

"What are you saying?" Kankuro said angrily from behind Gaara.

"I'm just saying the only fun matches to watch are the ones between our guys. The rest of them are just a waste of time."

"Jiraiya, stop talking, alright?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah, well I'll take that bet! I trained all the guys from Suna personally!" Kankuro roared.

"Crazy black makeup kid's kid or the Hokage's kid, I wonder how this will turn out?" Jiraiya taunted.

"Good god!" Temari sighed.

"One hundred ryo!" Kankuro said, slamming the coins in front of him and Tsunade.

Kimimaro and Juugo stared at the bickering ninja. "Are they always like this?"

"Yes," Temari and Shizune groaned.

* * *

Sakura and Souta stood where Emi and Sasuke had stood less than five minutes ago. Behind the Suna ninja was a large wooden construct in the shape of a rhino. "Puppeteer?"

"Yeah, how do you know what this is? No one else in the prelims did."

"Long story," Sakura said.

"Souta! Kick her ass!" Kankuro yelled from the stands.

"I have money on you Sakura! Don't lose!" Tsunade called from beside him.

"Hey guys! Shut up! Start the match!" Misumi called.

Souta flexed his fingers and the puppet behind him rumbled to life. The puppet's mouth groaned open and Souta slid into it effortlessly. The construct shut itself and its eyes glinted. A hail of senbon flew from the eye sockets, landing just short of Sakura. She leapt into the air, her chakra amplifying her movements. The stream of senbon followed closely behind but not fast or far enough to catch her.

The eyes stopped glinting and the puppet stood up on its hind legs, its forelegs groaning and shifting into what looked like cannons. "Take some of this!" Souta yelled from inside as the cannons began shooting paper bombs.

Landing on the ground, Sakura focused all of her chakra to her legs and sped past the paper bombs and to the left of the puppet. She could hear the puppeteer swearing inside about her speed. "Fine, I'll stop dodging," she said.

She twirled and skidded behind the slow turning puppet, focusing all of her chakra to her hands now, she slammed her fist forward, shattering the puppet.

Everyone in the stadium except for Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke sat in stunned silence.

"Easiest hundred ryo ever!"

"Uh, Sakura from Konoha wins. Next match: Naruto from Konoha and Takeshi from Suna."

* * *

"So, any bets this time?" Jiraiya boasted to the kages and their bodyguards.

"Yeah, bet against the kid that beat Gaara. Nope," Kankuro muttered. "At least Sakura was weak three years ago."

* * *

Naruto twirled his fans as Takeshi stepped into his place. "Hey."

"Are you trying to be friends with me?" Takeshi asked.

"I guess, yeah."

"Annoying," the Suna genin said as he grabbed a large fan from his back. "Just try to make this look good, alright?"

"Begin!"

Naruto's fans flicked open as Takeshi slammed his open.

"Wind Scythe!" the two yelled as they swung their fans. The colliding forces of wind and chakra shattered, knocking both ninja back.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Next to Naruto ten Shadow Clones appeared. "Wind Style: Tornado Vortex!" As the wind jutsu began to encircle Takeshi, the ten clones ran forward, circling in an opposite direction of the Tornado Vortex.

Inside the gale of cuts, Takeshi flapped his fan back open, attempting to cut away at the wind. "Cyclone Scythe!"

The competing wind jutsu dissipated just as the first two had, leaving Takeshi stuck in the middle of the Narutos.

One of the clones leapt into the air, with the fans magically in his hands. "Wind Scythe!" he yelled. As the jutsu ran from the fans the Shadow Clone dissipated and the fans reappeared in the hands of the original.

Flashing his fan out to stop the new attack, Takeshi failed to notice the Naruto's on the ground advancing toward him. "Na!" "Ru!" "To!" Takeshi was sent back into the air.

"Rasengan Barrage!" the last clone yelled as he slammed twin Rasengans into Takeshi's body. The clones dissipated just as the Suna genin hit the ground. The original Naruto body-flickered next to the downed genin, foot on his chest. "I don't wanna be your friend if you're going to be rude about it."

"Naruto from Konoha wins, next match: Ken'ichi from Suna versus Arata from Oto."

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sat in the area of the stadium designated for the contestants. "What was that thing with the fans?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, I got these from Pervy-sensei. They got seals in them that let me summon them no matter where they are, good for surprise attacks, eh?"

"It'll be interesting to fight against," Sasuke muttered.

"So sure you're going to fight him? I'm before you get to him," Sakura said coyly.

"Sakura, no offense, but Naruto and I have some debts to settle. So, no, no you won't fight him."

* * *

Kakashi scanned the crowds. "Now that no one important is fighting, I might as well do my job," he thought. A small black man caught his attention. Pulling out his Sharingan for a better look, he saw the black and red uniform of an Akatsuki operative. The operative looked back at Kakashi, an orange mask covering his expression.

"Jiraiya, I'll be back in a minute. One of our friends is here," Kakashi whispered.

"Oh, good then. Let's go welcome him to the party," he whispered back. "We're off to go get snacks! Who wants a corndog?"

"A what?" Temari asked.

"I'll just get you a bucket of ramen then. Ciao!" With that the two Konoha Jounin body flickered into the stands. The two ninja stood on either side of the man. If he was surprised, his body language didn't show it. The man's head turned to nod at both ninja. Now that Kakashi was less busy looking at the operative himself, he let his Sharingan gloss over the mask. It had a swirl pattern that drew attention to the single eye hole in the mask.

"A Sharingan...?" Kakashi mouthed as his eye reached the operative's.

"Hello there Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya of the Sanin," the Akatsuki operative said quietly. "Let's go somewhere more private. We can conduct our business there."

"Yeah, about that… we aren't stupid. Walking into an obvious trap isn't how we do things," Jiraiya said.

"If I wanted to kill you all I could have done it during the Jinchuriki's fight. He caused enough of a distraction. Or I could have stolen him any time now; you left enough openings for me."

"Where's your team mate?" Kakashi growled.

"I don't have one, I am a special case when it comes to that. Now, shall we leave and begin your little interrogation?"

Kakashi placed a kunai at the small of the Akatsuki's back. "Do anything and you're dead."

"Whatever makes you feel safer." The three walked in silence until they were outside the stadium.

Biting his palm, Jiraiya slammed it to the ground, summoning a toad stomach around them. "Why are you here?"

The Akatsuki man chuckled happily. "To watch the entertainment, just as you two are."

"Yeah, when Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke are here, isn't that right Itachi? You can take off the mask and stop the voice modification jutsu," Kakashi said. "The Sharingan makes it a little obvious."

The man laughed for a longer period of time, it no longer pleasant. "I am not Itachi, but he is one of my pawns. A rebellious pawn, but a pawn all the same." He lifted his hands to the mask and pulled it off. The man's head had no semblance of ever being alive. His skin was pallid and wrinkled and his hair looked like the twine of old rope. The only part of him that was alive were his Sharingan eyes, glowing red and bright.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Madara Uchiha, true leader of Akatsuki, the once and future ruler of the Uchiha Clan, and future ruler of the world. Nice to be your acquaintance," he said mock cheerfully.

"Impossible, if you were alive I would have heard of it," Jiraiya said.

"Well, calling me alive isn't really the best way to phrase it. That should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

"Cut the crap. Why are you here?" Kakashi questioned.

The man let out another laugh, a mix of glee and the hard biting laugh from earlier. "I'm not after the Fox or the Shukaku. I'm here for Sasuke, I want to see how well he's progressed and if he is worth continuing to be my apprentice."

"What do you mean continuing? What have you done to him!"

Another roar of laughter. "You know just what I mean Kakashi, you're my apprentice too, or else that little Mangekyou of yours wouldn't exist."

Kakashi stepped back. How did he know about the Mangekyou? He had practiced it only at night and in secluded sections of the woods around Konoha. And the journal, he should have known!

"I can see things are starting to make sense. I know everything Kakashi, don't worry yourself over that. I knew that little journal was the perfect way to get Sasuke innoculated on the Uchiha's true history." Madara began to laugh again, now completely gleeful. "Once all is said and done, he'll be the greatest pawn I've ever used."

"Bastard!" A Chidori began appearing in Kakashi's hands, anger pushing the chakra instead of hand seals. Kakashi's hand surged forward, impaling Madara through the chest. The man laughed and his body waved back, the Chidori leaving no mark on his robe or body.

"I think I'll take my leave then. It is obvious I'm not wanted." The mask found its way back over Madara's head. "I'd tell the Kazekage and Otokage about our little meeting, its only their right to know. That and I would love to see you three work together against me. The futility of it all would make it exceptionally hilarious. Good day." Madara saluted and waved through the stomach. Kakashi and Jiraiya stood there in shock.

"That..., no. It can't be," Jiraiya said, dispelling the toad.

"That was just like Minato's jutsu. We need to get going. Now!"

* * *

"And the match is over blah blah blah, Ken'ichi of Suna wins. God, that match was boring! Next round is an intermediary one, Sasuke against Daisuke. Make this one exciting!"

"I wish he was less blunt," Juugo said. "It was a little less spectacular than the others but he didn't need to phrase it like that."

"You are going to replace him aren't you?" Tsunade asked.

"No one else volunteered," Kimimaro said simply.

Kakashi and Jiraiya burst into the upper area with a flash of smoke from their body flicker. "Otokage, Kazekage, Hokage: postpone the exams!" Kakashi cried.

"All this because of a corndog?" Temari said.

"The corndog was an Akatsuki agent named Madara Uchiha, I think that's a little more pressing," Jiraiya said. The voices of the two villages' bodyguards rose in volume for a brief moment. In the next, Gaara and Tsunade showed how disciplined their bodyguards were. Gaara simply rose his hand and Tsundade by bringing her's down onto their faces. "Are you sure it was Madara?" Tsunade growled.

"Who is Madara Uchiha?" Gaara asked.

"A ninja that co-founded Konohagakure with the first Hokage. He went rogue when things weren't going his way. We assumed he had died from old age," Jiraiya answered.

"Is an attack imminent?" Kimimaro asked calmly, placing a steadying hand on Juugo's arm, working to fight back the man's anxiety and curse.

"No, he disappeared after he talked to us."

"Disappeared? Not left?" Temari asked.

"Yes, disappeared as in space/time ninjutsu disappear," Kakashi said. "He wasn't after Naruto or any of the kage, he's here to evaluate Sasuke's abilities. He wants to use him as a pawn in some Akatsuki plot."

"Juugo, go to Kiho and his team, get more security patrols, have them constantly report in," Kimimaro said. "We will continue the exams. If he was to have made a move, he would have done so."

As Juugo left, the seven remaining ninja watched as Sasuke and Daisuke entered the stadium for their match. All the while Kakashi slapped himself mentally, he should never have let Sasuke read that journal, even if it did help him with his Mangekyou.

* * *

Sasuke and Daisuke sized each other up. "So, you're not going to take this easy are you?" Daisuke said hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, but no."

The Oto genin grimaced. "Ah, I guess I made it this far at least, that counts for something." The two fell into battle stances as Misumi called for the match to start.

Sasuke drew a stack of shuriken from his bandolier and threw them as his other hand reached for the iron sword. Daisuke opened his mouth slightly and the shuriken flew back at their thrower. Sasuke could feel a slight tingle in his body just as the shuriken approached.

"Sound jutsu, fitting," he thought as his sword lashed out to knock the shuriken from the air.

Daisuke opened his mouth again and Sasuke felt his Sharingan twitch. A surge of chakra to his head later and the twitching stopped. Daisuke was no longer several yards away, but now at his side, kunai in his hand.

Sasuke swiped his blade to knock away his opponents and then jabbed the boy in the ribs. "Genjutsu tends to not work on Sharingan users."

The sound genin regained his composure from the rip strike. "Noted," Daisuke smirked. "You do know you just knocked out most of my attacks there, right?"

"It happens."

Daisuke's hand shot up in the air. "I forfeit. No reason to fight a lost battle, eh?"

"Sasuke from Konoha wins. What the hell did I just say about an exciting battle?"

"Hey, Sasuke, make sure you win. Don't make my whole thing pointless, eh?" Daisuke said, extending his hand.

The Uchiha grasped the hand and shook. "I'll get to the finals for sure."

"That's all I can ask for," Daisuke called as he let go and walked back to the waiting area.

"Next round, Sasuke and Sakura, both from Konoha. Don't waste our fucking time this time!"

Sakura walked slowly into the arena, flexing her wrists as she went. "We fought once before, didn't we, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, back at the Academy, it wasn't as much of a fight as a gawking fest," Sasuke smiled.

"I'm actually going to put up a fight this time, good luck."

"You too."

"Begin the match!"

Sakura stamped her foot into the ground, causing a slight shockwave. Her hair and clothes began to blow about and the stones by her feet began rocking. Then came the noticeable aura of unlocking an inner gate, combined with a pink hue.

"Gate of Opening!" Sakura yelled.

"Going to get right at it then!" Sasuke yelled back, eyes fully morphing into Mangekyou Sharingan. "Chidori Sharp Sword!" A blue fire of electricity covered Sasuke's sword and a blade of chakra extended far beyond where the metal ceased.

* * *

"Why is Sakura jumping straight into the Gates?" Temari asked. "Didn't she see what happened to that one genin when he opened his up when he fought against Gaara?"

Tsunade smirked. "Sakura found a way around the limitations."

"Healing chakra," Kakashi remarked, his eye telling him all he needed to know.

"Using the Inner Gate's chakra, Sakura can use it to constantly heal her body before it gets to the breaking point. Then add onto the already sizeable increase in strength with her chakra amplification. The only downside on her is the terrible mental strain. At the first gate, it's hardly worth mentioning, but it will increase exponentially after this."

"So, she wants to really prove she's come a long way, to both Sasuke and Naruto. This will be interesting to watch," Jiraiya said.

* * *

Sakura bolted ahead, her speed easily tracked by the Sharingan, but surprising Sasuke nonetheless. The kunoichi circled Sasuke, her feet creating a large dust cloud about them, letting Sasuke only see her chakra signature. Bringing his sword level, Sasuke lashed out quickly.

The chakra signature dodged, a mass of pink and green chakra for his Mangekyou Sharingan, by ducking and getting closer to Sasuke.

"Leaf Typhoon!" A flurry of punches and kicks knocked the sword from his hands and then subsided; returning back to the circle of dust Sakura's constant running had created.

"Chidori Stre…!" A punch to his gut stopped the technique in it's tracks.

"Fire Style: Fir…!" A punch to the back.

"Chidori St…!" A punch to the face, and then a puff of smoke.

"Shadow Clone!" Sakura cursed. "He substituted, where did he go?" she thought as she continued running around, eyes darting everywhere and ears now receiving amplification. "Above!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Streams of fire raced to the ground, but with Sakura's speed she easily dodged them.

Sasuke landed nimbly, right next to his sword, just as he had intended to. Sakura appeared in front of him. "So, how am I doing?"

"Pretty good, healing yourself with Gate chakra and using the rest is pretty ingenious; you're going to make your boyfriend jealous."

"He'll have to live with it." The two paused. "Sasuke, give up. I can just keep hitting you softly or I'll have to use a Lotus, we're not trying to kill each other remember?"

Sasuke frowned. "I am going to get to Naruto, Sakura. We are coming with each other with the intent to kill. Just like when we three fought against Kakashi."

Sakura sighed. "Fine. If you want to fight like that then I'll end this right now." Another surge of chakra. "Gate of Rest!"

Sasuke's hands slid into a set of seals. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ten Sasuke's appeared at his side. "Come on, Sakura!"

Sakura's physical form simply disappeared, all Sasuke could see was a large mass of her chakra coming at him and his clones. A series of strikes hit each Sasuke before they could even form a hand seal.

Perfect. She was just attacking, no sense of strategy. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Fifty Sasukes appeared next to the original and then body flickered to the edges of the arena, only a few standing next to Sasuke in the center. The Uchiha panted, this was starting to take a lot out of him.

Once again, Sakura surged forward, punches and kicks destroying the clones left and right.

Ok… now…! "Sasuke thought. "Lightning Style: Chain Lightning!" Bolts of electricity spiraled from each Sasuke, connecting each other and making a large grid about them. Sakura slammed into one of the bolts of electricity, the shock jolting her gates shut.

"Lightning... Style: Three… Pillar Bind!" The Chain Lightning ceased as three Shadow Clones surrounded Sakura, acting as the pillars of the Bind jutsu.

Only the crackling of the jutsu could be heard in the arena, the entire audience was silent.

"About fucking time we had a good fight! Sasuke from Konoha wins! Next is Naruto from Konoha against Ken'ichi."

A troop of medical ninjas appeared on the arena floor and helped Sakura onto a stretcher and then they body-flickered off.

Sasuke began limping back to the sitting area and gave Naruto a weak thumbs up. "You'd better… fucking win, dumbass!"

"And let you have an easy fight? No way, duckbutt!" Naruto called from the stands.

* * *

Tsunade stood herself up. "I'm going to go check on Sakura. You two," she said pointing at Kakashi and Jiraiya, "don't do anything stupid in front of the others."

"What does she think we are? Children?" Jiraiya grumbled.

"Yes," Kankuro muttered.

* * *

Ken'ichi stood across from Naruto, two wooden puppets at his side. The puppets looked very similar to Kankuro's Crow, except they were much smaller in size. However the magnificence they had before the day's battles were gone. They had been charred such that the inner mechanics of the senbon launchers, smoke bomb deployers and other weapons systems were plainly visible. The joints themselves looked like they would fall off at a moment's notice.

"Start the match!"

"You have no idea how pointless this looks from my end," the Suna genin said.

"I can imagine," Naruto said sheepishly. "But hey, I've went up against some pretty steep odds. You have a chance."

"Nah, this is just going to end horribly. Hornet and Wasp are already pretty messed up from that last one. Stupid fire jutsu user," Ken'ichi said.

"Didn't you have time to fix them?"

"As far as I know the only breaks we get are during each other's matches, and that really wasn't enough to fix all of this." Naruto nodded sadly. "At the same time, I can't go and surrender either."

"How long will it take you to fix it?"

"Maybe an hour, maybe two, I have to replace all the outer shell and put new joints on both of these."

Naruto grinned his biggest trademark grin. "Take all the time you need."

"Goddamnit! Another fucking boring match!" Misumi roared.

* * *

"That kid is an idiot, you aren't supposed to give your enemy a fighting chance if you can avoid it," Kankuro muttered.

"You aren't happy he's giving one of your pupils a chance to win?" Jiraiya asked slyly.

"I gave up on it."

"What was that? I didn't hear you."

"I gave up on it."

"Can you repeat that again, I am getting old you know."

"I fucking gave up on having one of my fucking students fucking beating yours."

Jiraiya smiled and handed Kankuro a corndog from some hidden pocket in his clothes. "Now was that so hard?"

* * *

After almost an hour, Ken'ichi stood up. His puppets still were not in the best of shape, but they looked more battle ready than before. Virgin wooden planks and shiny metal had replaced most of the burnt cinders and melted steel that it used to have. All it took was a few downed trees Naruto had been more than happy to morph into planks with his wind chakra and spare pieces Ken'ichi had brought along just in case.

"I'm ready Naruto," he said, his fingers twitching as his chakra strings attached themselves to the puppets. "Try not to break these guys up to much will you?"

Naruto grinned ", I can't make any promises."

Ken'ichi smiled and his puppets surged forward, their speed matching that of a basic shinobi. "I'd be pissed if you had. Secret Black Move: Razor Wire!" The chakra wire moving the puppets glowed a bright blue and became much larger. Blades of chakra ran up and down the wire.

Naruto leapt into the air, just as the puppets would have gone past each other and swept their razor chakra wire around him. "Wind Style: Wind Scythe!" The rush of air missed one of the puppets completely and Naruto landed on the ground, out in the open like a sitting duck.

Wasp and Hornet veered around, both coming in for another pass. Chest flaps opened, revealing launching systems for grenades. A dozen smoke bombs flew out and landed next to Naruto. "Wind Style: Gust!" He pumped Wind chakra into his hands and feet and released it, propelling the grenades away.

The puppets and their razor wire got ever closer. Naruto flicked his wrists and summoned his two fans into his hands. Another flick opened them and with another, a Rasengan hovered over each. "Wind Style: Rasengan!" Naruto ran toward the encroaching puppets and he waved both fans in front of him. The Rasengans leapt from the fans and rocketed toward the two puppets. Naruto ran past the cloud of sawdust that his Rasengans had created and two more formed on his fans. He skidded to a stop just in front of Ken'ichi. "Sorry about the puppets."

The boy laughed and held up his hand. "It was going to happen anyway. I surrender."

Misumi sighed, was it really too much for him to want to see an epic battle after waiting an hour? "Yes, yes it is," he thought miserably. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha. Final round will be held once both finalists are prepared. It will be held between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure."

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, been a little late I know. I was going to have this out sooner and just have the first round's battles, but then I remembered that Team 7 has had three more years than these other guys, they should be curbstomping the hell out of them. So I went to include each and every fight except for the finals. Also, school has started back up and I'm part of the fall production, so you all know how that goes. No real date for the next chapter, just know that its coming.

Also know that without a doubt my plans for the Shinobi World War are going to be vastly different. For those of you keeping up with the scanlated manga, you know what I'm talking about. My plans are set in stone now and will not change unless I see a really cool idea that fits in with the fanfic's plot.

Also yes, fanfiction Jiraiya's favorite food is now and forever will be corndogs. Screw you anachronism, I have stupid jokes!


	13. Chapter 13: Wind Sphere Vs Thunder Blade

The two Konoha genin stared each other down. The sun hovered just past its midpoint in the sky. The tournament had taken a recess for four hours, allowing time for Sasuke to recover from his chakra loss and the spectators ample time to gossip and socialize. Once the time limit was up however, all of the spectators were back along with a few new ones picked up after hearing accounts of the fights. The arena was deathly silent, waiting Misumi to call out the fight.

"Final Round: Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure versus Sasuke Uchiha of Konohagakure. Begin!" Misumi called.

Naruto lowered his hand as Sasuke went through hand seals.

"Great Ball Rasengan!"

"Lightning Blade!"

The two rushed forward, their eyes trained intently on the other. Five feet away, Sasuke thrust his blade and Naruto shoved his hand-held bomb. As their jutsu hit its counterpart, a blast of chakra erupted from their hands sending them flying away. As they flew, Naruto and Sasuke's hands were already moving into the seals of a counterattack.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Shockwave!"

As Sasuke's fire bolts flew towards Naruto the other's blast of air knocked the jutsu off course. The ninjas landed nimbly and mentally looked over their wounds. Other than aching arms, the opening moves left them relatively unscathed.

Sasuke unsheathed his sword and began running towards Naruto, leaping diagonally every so often, as if expecting a wind jutsu to counter him. In response Naruto brought out his fans and extended their chakra blades. Soon the blades were clanging against each other.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes glinted into their full Mangekyou form, the red atomic symbol staring straight into Naruto's pupil. "Chidori Stream!"

Bright lightning chakra raced down Sasuke's sword. In response, Naruto's blue chakra blades turned a ghostly white. The air around Sasuke began to tremble and the chakra about the Uchiha's blade dispersed.

The Uchiha leapt backwards once, twice, three times. "That's a new trick."

"Like it?' Naruto asked.

With a grunted reply, Sasuke sheathed his sword and stared straight into Naruto's eyes. Lines of chakra beneath Naruto's skin soon blinked to life in his Sharingan. Every single twitch of his muscle was ampilfied. Faded copies of Naruto appeared about the original, indicating possible paths of movement. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," Sasuke said.

Two shadow clones joined the original. Reaching into his bandolier, the original Sasuke produced a scroll. Unfurling it and gripping it with his teeth, he began pumping chakra into it. Two kunai with paper bombs appeared in the Uchiha's hands.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto replied. His two clones took a fan each and flipped them open, creating wind chakra Rasengans over them. The originals and their two clones glared each other down.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Rasengan!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

The Naruto's leapt into different directions, flinging Rasengans and Shockwaves toward the Sasuke clones. The Sasukes stayed stationary controlling their jutsu, summoning more bombs, or creating more fire attacks. The paper bombs sailing through the air began faltering as rushes of wind chakra from the original Naruto collided with the projectiles.

The crackling Lightning Beast roared at the first Naruto clone and bounded the last few yards toward it. The clone yelled as the burst of chakra rammed straight into it and bounded off toward the last clone. Completely occupied with the fire jutsu, it was silently taken out by the beast.

The fire justu using Shadow Clone dispersed himself and the lightning one body-flickered behind Naruto. Tapping into the remaining chakra he possessed, the clone made the hand seals for the Chidori.

The clone ran forward as the lightning chakra charged on his hand. He had next to no chakra… no time to fully charge it… just this one gap.

Naruto twirled about and sent a blast of wind chakra to the clone, dispersing it. Summoning the fans back to him, Naruto knocked another paper bomb from the air.

Sasuke snapped his scroll shut and placed it back in the bandolier. As soon as the scroll was returned to its holster, Sasuke grunted as if he was punched in the gut. He had used too much chakra all at once. He hadn't been thinking... "Damn it," he thought.

A single Shadow Clone puffed into existence next to the Jinchuriki. A twirling shuriken shaped ball of chakra appeared over Naruto's fans. The real Naruto handed the fans off to the clone. The real Naruto and the fake leapt away from each other, running toward Sasuke in opposite curves.

The Uchiha aimed a shuriken along the projected path his Mangekyou predicted. He darted his head to face the real Naruto and laid his hand down to charge up a Lightning Blade. With a twitch of his fingers Naruto brought the fans back to him, Rasenshuriken still dancing overtop the folds. A brief moment later Sasuke heard the poof of the shuriken hitting its target. His Mangekyou indicated Naruto was within optimal throwing range for the technique. There was nowhere he could go to escape the jinchuriki.

The jinchuriki stopped several yards from Sasuke, the roar of the Rasenshuriken and the chirping of the Lightning Blade in both of their ears. Sasuke knew it was over. Rasenshuriken would beat Lightning Blade, and it would be over. His mind raced. There had to be some technique he could use to overpower the Wind…

Seeing no other option, Sasuke glared at his Lightning Blade, willing the fires of Amaterasu to spark up along the edges of the Lightning Chakra. One eye looking ahead and the other to keep up the jutsu, Sasuke ran forward, ignoring the pain of his eyes. In reply, Naruto nodded followed suit. Their respective jutsu were jutted before them.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

"Amaterasu Lightning Blade!"

As they hit, the fires of Amaterasu flared up and out from the force of the Rasenshuriken. Wind, Fire, and Lightning began nullifying themselves in a hellish conflict of chakra. Sasuke could feel cuts on his arms and fingers and Naruto felt a sharp pang in his hands. Bolts of energy rocked around them, finding no other place to go except out. With their eyes glaaring daggers in each other, they could not help but notice the space between their eyes was warping and shifting. A harsh hissing noise erupted form the warp and they felt their chakra rapidly fall into it. Then Naruto's fans and Sasuke's fist touched.

* * *

Naruto groaned. Everything was in pain. His arms found a grasping place on a metal cylinder, and he slowly pulled himself up. His eyes were shut and a grimace wore tightly over his face. He slowly opened them to the dank gray and white of a hospital room.

"Ah, man…"

The boy tried to sit up to no avail. Turning his head he saw Sasuke in the bed next to him. Cuts and burns were all over the boy' face, and from his look, he had just woken up too.

"Damn," Sasuke said. "Damn…" Their eyes met slowly, hesitantly, painfully. Then, Naruto started to cough. The cough turned into a hoarse laugh that Sasuke took part in. "Damn it… you idiot."

The two heard a loud cough, and darted their eyes to the front of the room where Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi stood.

"You fucking idiots! What the hell were you trying to do? Kill yourselves?" Sakura said.

"Wasn't that… the point?" Sasuke said.

"Yeah, Sakura. We're fine," Naruto said.

"Like hell you are," Tsunade groaned. The Hokage slumped into a chair, obviously tired at having been at their sides for most of the evening.

Kakashi sighed and left the room. Outside the door, Jiraiya sat in a meditative pose. "They're both alright."

Jiraiya smirked and stood up. "Does she have any idea when they'll be able to walk again?"

"As soon as the first wave of pain subsides." The two paused. "It's a miracle they're both alive.

"It's a miracle you popped off that Sharingan trick of yours without killing them."

"I didn't think they would actually be stupid enough to go through with it."

"You don't know Naruto or Sasuke that well then, do you?" The two sighed, stood up, and went in to see their students.

* * *

Madara walked happily into his small hideout. Even if he was kicked out of Otogakure, he had seen the minimum of Sasuke's current abilities. It was a pity he could not see the fight between him and the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It would have been excellent foreshadowing.

Inside the cave, Kabuto was standing vigil over a coffin. That was good; it meant he was working at least. "Show me." With a single hand seal, the coffin's lid popped off. A slender hand reached out to grip the sides. The corpse pulled itself out. It was the same girl as before, however her skin was less cracked and even more pale. Her eyes were large black orbs that stared emptily into space. Madara reached to pull skin off of the corpse only to watch it repair the broken skin a second later.

"Summon Orochimaru," he ordered. Kabuto nodded slowly, making several hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation: Orochimaru," Kabuto said. The boy collapsed onto the floor, his hands still in their seal. Madara would have to lock this information away; it would take Kabuto time to assemble an undead army made of the strongest shinobi.

A coffin, identical in every shape to the one already present, rose from the earth. The air grew thinner and much chiller as if the coffin were a portal to the netherworld. The lid slowly slid off the coffin, revealing a perfect likeness of the Sanin. The corpse jerked to life and stepped out of its coffin. The monster indifferently brushed his long black hair from his view. His eyes darted to the robes Madara wore.

"Akatsuki," he muttered. "Which one are you?"

"Your replacement."

Kabuto plunged a kunai with the control tag into the small of Orochimaru's back. The corpse crumpled to the floor, its limbs bending themselves into painful contorts. Upon the face of the corpse the battle its feeble undead mind was having with the chakra tag could be seen. At last the corpse raised itself from the ground, the reptilian eyes of Orochimaru replaced by two black irises.

Madara smiled underneath his mask. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hey guys. Sorry about that really long wait. Part of it was theatre, part of it school, and another part not being satisfied with the chapter at all. To be completely honest, I am really not at all happy with the fight scene but I need to move this thing onward. So anyway we'll start getting into some canon events before I get to start screwing completely with everything. Well, more than I already have.

Also, just as a last note, please review. It would be amazing and would make this a lot less painful for both us. You because you'd be reading better work, and me because I could write this that much better.


	14. Chapter 14: An Interlude in Konoha

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke stood at attention before Tsunade. Sakura had to give her teacher credit, for once she was getting some of her paper word done. The Hokage made one last stroke of her brush, completing all of the signatures she had to make.

"Shizune," Tsunade said. At once the aide handed each member of Team 7 a green Konoha flak jacket. "You each have earned the privilege of wearing this piece of armor several times over. As of now, you three are Chunin of Konohagakure." The three bowed and turned to leave. "Hold on you two. Sakura, you're free to go."

Sakura nodded and left the room silently. "Is everything alright, Grandma?" Naruto asked.

"I just want you two to know one thing: If either of you even dares to pull off a stunt like you did during your final match and you end up coming back here in pieces asking for me to fix you up, I will. But, Naruto, I will do everything I can to make sure you never become Hokage. And Sasuke, I will stick you on guard duty. For the rest of your life. Are we understood?"

The two nodded their heads quickly. "Good. Now get out of here." The two left the room behind, each looking intently on their new armor. As they left the Hokage's tower, they noticed Jiraiya waiting for them. The man smiled widely once he saw the vest in Naruto's hand.

"I'll see you around, Sasuke," Naruto said as he started running toward his mentor. "See, Pervy-sensei? One step closer to being Hokage."

The old man laughed and patted Naruto's shoulder. "You did well in that exam, I can tell you that much."

"So, what are you going to teach me now?"

Jiraiya's face stiffened and he looked into Naruto's overeager eyes. "Naruto, I have to stop being your sensei."

The boy dropped his vest. "What! Why?"

"Naruto, I stopped being your sensei once you started training with Tenzo. All I've taught you is the Summoning Technique and the Rasengan. You taught yourself everything else you know. My duty isn't to be your mentor any more; it's to perform missions for the village again. That's where I'd be more useful."

"Jiraiya…"

"Stop it. You keep saying how you want to be Hokage. You need to act like it. A Hokage knows and understands were to put the shinobi under him to better the village. My place is in the field."

After a long silence, Naruto nodded and picked up his vest. He slowly dusted it off. "Yes, sir."

Jiraiya couldn't prevent the twitches of a smile from showing on his face. "You'll do fine without me, kid. You've been for a lot longer than you realize." The Sanin reached into a back pocket and handed Naruto a thin scroll. "Take this."

Naruto took the scroll gingerly and unfurled it, noting several seals with the words "Fire", "Water", "Earth", "Lightning", "Ninjutsu", "Taijutsu", and "Summoning" written underneath. "What is it?" Naruto asked.

"I spent some time looking for some books and scrolls on techniques that might help you out. It's up to you to pick one and work on it." Jiraiya nodded and slowly began to walk away. "You'll do fine, kid."

"Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto called.

"What?" the man said, no hint of irritation in his voice.

"What one should I look at first?"

The teacher laughed. "That's up to you kid. I'd look at Water or Fire first. Both work well with your Wind element. Just know it's going to take a lot longer to perfect, you don't have an affinity for either chakra nature." The man nodded and turned once more, only to go a few feet and stop. "And one last thing." Reaching into a deep pocket, Jiraiya threw a large and jingling pouch toward Naruto's feet. "That's for all the 'cheap whores'."

Naruto nodded, and picked up the scroll, vest, and coin bag into his arms. "See you soon, Jiraiya-sensei!"

In reply, Jiraiya tipped an imaginary hat at the Chunin as he walked toward the village gates.

* * *

To say the least, Sasuke was annoyed. For once in his life he had a free day. There were no stupid missions to partake in, Kakashi hadn't ordered a surprise training session, Ino and the rest of his fangirls were nowhere to be found, Naruto wasn't bothering him, and Sakura hadn't been at his beck and call. Then again, she had been off smooching with Lee for the past three years. He should have been used to that by now.

He wasn't annoyed that none of those things were happening (he was beyond ecstatic that they weren't), the annoying thing was now that he was sitting alone in his old home's living room he felt nothing. There was no grief from the loss of his clan, no feelings of vengeance welling up inside him, no disappointment that his family wasn't able to celebrate his successes with him, no fabricated Itachi mocking him, nothing.

"Little brother, you're six years late," Itachi's disembodied voice said.

"Better," Sasuke thought. It might not be healthy, but at least something normal was occurring.

"Six years late and what do you have to show for it?"

Something wasn't right. The voice wasn't disembodied enough… it sounded like it was behind him…

Sasuke whirled around, eyes immediately shifting into Mangekyou form, instantly staring into Itachi's eyes.

The member of Akatsuki stood in an open doorway, calm as ever.

"So you finally have my eyes. And you didn't even kill anyone close to you. Interesting."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

His brother smiled. "I wanted to check up on my baby brother. What harm is there in that?"

"Get out of here."

"Or what?" Itachi's voice became harsh and cold. "Whenever we have met I have defeated you. You are weak, little brother. Even with your new eyes. You are a disgrace to our clan." Itachi circled his brother. "Even now, you do not pounce, you do not attack. You are a disgrace to Konoha, a disgrace to the Uchiha, and most of all, a disgrace to me. The thought that I am related to you sickens me. And most importantly, you have learned nothing. Your heart is not ruled by hatred." Itachi's pace stopped directly in front of Sasuke.

"'In the end, those who tasted revenge were not satisfied.'"

"Is that Kakashi?" Itachi paused. "He could be so much more, but he holds back. He never lets his true colors show. Even in his darkest moments, there is a trace of mercy in him. It keeps him from being truly strong. No wonder you are so weak. With an idol like him I have to wonder if you will ever come and kill me."

"I will kill you."

"You've said that for nine years. You still haven't…"

"And when I do, it will not be out of revenge. It will be to protect everyone that I care for. And if you fucking think that I can't kill you…" A flash of Amaterasu's dark fire sparked to life on Itachi's Akatsuki cloak. Within the second, Sasuke body flickered behind Itachi, kunai stabbed into the small of Itachi's back. "Think again, you goddamned bastard." Sasuke twisted the kunai and let more of Amaterasu flare onto Itachi's body. Itachi let out a sharp caw. The Amaterasu fires extinguished themselves and Itachi's body exploded into a murder of crows. Sasuke turned around, to see his brother watching the scene idly. "I don't need hate to kill you. Hatred is weakness. If you can't find motivation other than hate, you have no purpose."

At last, Itachi laughed. "Foolish little Sasuke, delusional as ever." A crow silently landed on his shoulder. "My organization is mobilizing. We will be after Naruto. Our paths will cross again." The brother paused as if he were expecting Sasuke to reply. Itachi made a hand seal and he was enveloped by crows and then he was gone.

* * *

Today was shaping up to be a usual day for Hinata. Wake up, get dressed, find Haruki standing outside her door, have breakfast with father, spar with Haruki, and then wander around town with Haruki keep an overly-watchful eye on her.

"Lady Hinata, I must ask that you slow down. I can not ascertain threats and stay close to you if you do not walk at a leisurely pace," he scolded. She could feel his Byakugan eyes boring into the back of her head. And even if she couldn't feel them she knew they were. They always were.

"Then you will have to keep up," she muttered.

"What, Lady Hinata?"

"Nothing." Spotting a bench off to the side of a ramen stand, Hinata made a beeline to it. Maybe she could set him off on an errand and she'd slip away.

"Halt, Lady Hinata!" Haruki called. The heir groaned as her bodyguard inspected the bench and the surrounding ground. "It is safe."

She sighed and sat down. No wonder no one hung out with her. Of course, she never really was the 'hanging out' type but at least she had Kiba and Shino. But then her father took that away from her when Kurenai-sensei was removed from teaching duty and replaced her with Haruki. The man didn't care for Kiba or Shino. He kept saying they were destined for 'the first wave of a suicide attack'. Hinata knew otherwise; as soon as she became leader of the Hyuuga clan that honorable role would go to Haruki.

"Lady Hinata," the bodyguard said. "I must ask that we leave. An undesirable child will be entering your presence soon."

"Who is it?" Hinata asked, genuinely curious. Konohamaru never bothered her.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said. As an afterthought, he added", I thought we were rid of that filth three years ago."

Hinata bolted up, her Byakugan bursting into life. She scanned her field of vision for him… Oh, it had been three years. What did he look like? Did he still remember her?... There! He was walking up the street directly towards her. He was a little far off and there was the lunch crowd so he hadn't seen her yet. And what was he carrying?

"Lady Hinata, if you wish I will remove him from your field of view. Just say the word."

It was a Chunin vest! Wait, when did Naruto become a Chunin? And a sack of money? And a sealing scroll? Oh! And his muscles were a lot more defined and he still had that rugged look on his face. And those cute whisker scars were still there…

"Lady Hinata? May I?"

"No."

"Lady Hinata! You want to be anywhere near that monster?"

"He is not a monster." Stay calm. Stay calm.

"Not a monster. Lady Hinata, you know he is a monster. You know why he is a monster…"

"Haruki…" Hinata forced herself to keep her fists closed. There were no Hyuuga attacks with closed fists…

"Then he disgraced Neji in front of the entire world…"

Hinata's hand darted out before either Hyuuga knew what was happening. The finger tips hit the center of her guardian's chest. A burst of chakra traveled through Haruki's body. He crumpled and hit the ground. Quickly, Hinata reached for his palm and found his pulse. As if on cue, three ANBU materialized in front of Hinata.

"Heat exhaustion," Hinata said. The head ANBU nodded. Everyone in the village was well aware of Hinata and Haruki. They were even more aware of Haruki's recently contracted susceptibility to heat exhaustion.

After the ANBU spirited Haruki away, Hinata ran towards Naruto. She had three years to make up for.

* * *

"Any minute now Ichiraku will be open," Naruto said happily. "And I can have some real ramen again!" As if on cue, the fabric slits covering the serving window of Ramen Ichiraku flew upwards revealing Ayame and Teuchi waiting for customers. "Hey!" Naruto called as he slid into a seat.

"About time you got here, Naruto. I was worried we'd have to close down without my walking paycheck," Teuchi laughed. Ayame lightly slapped the back of her father's head.

"It's good to have you back, Naruto," she said sweetly. "Extra large miso with extra pork?"

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Can't beat that," he said. Ayame and Teuchi scurried in the kitchen, getting Naruto's order finished.

"Naruto?" a soft voice asked from behind.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied, turning his head just enough. When he saw who was addressing him he turned all the way. "Hinata!"

"May I join you?" Hinata asked. Naruto patted the seat beside him and she slowly sat down.

"How have you been?"

"Fine," she lied. "How about you?" Naruto just smiled and held his new Chunin vest close to him. "Naruto! That's great!"

"Yeah. Wouldn't have been possible without Sasuke and Sakura though."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Teuchi called from the stove.

"What would you like?" Ayame asked Hinata.

"Um…"

"Get her some miso," Naruto said. "You'll like it, trust me." Hinata stared at Naruto's smile. A little blush appeared on her cheeks. "I heard you made Jounin." The blush got deeper.

"I meant to tell you in person…"

"That's really amazing, Hinata."

As successful as her father's efforts to curb and eliminate Hinata's shy attitude nothing could have prepared her for that compliment. Her eyes closed tight and her face turned an even deeper shade of red. Her body went limp and fell into Naruto's arms.

"Uh… Hinata?"

From behind the counter, Ayame and Teuchi chuckled and went back to cooking the two ninja's orders.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Looks like we're here, hm," a yellow-haired man said. The black robes of Akatsuki billowed around him in the wind. Next to him was a shorter member of the organization. Before the two was the circular wall surrounding Sunagakure.

"Yura should have dealt the guard by now," the shorter one said. The two began the long walk toward the village gate.

"You should stay back, Sasori, my man. It'll be nice to see how much I've grown as an artist, hm."

"As long as you don't keep me waiting."

The yellow-haired man grinned and reached into a pouch at his filled with white clay. A crease in his palm opened and a tongue snaked out to globble up the chakra-infused substance. The palm/mouth chewed and spat out a miniature bird. "I promise to let you get the Three-Tails." With a hand seal, the bird expanded into the size of a large horse. He got on nimbly and waved to his associate before lifting off.

Sasori watched as Deidara flew above Sunagakure. "I'll be waiting all night, won't I? Hmm," he growled.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Feels good to be on top of this thing again. Also, now we are getting to the actual meat of the story. I'm skipping the Deidara and Gaara fight. You all know how that happens anyway and their skills are exactly the same as canon at this point.

As usual, no promises on a release date. I can say with complete confidence that it will not be out as quickly as this one was.


End file.
